THIS coming weekend the group Cornwall & Devon Standing In Solidarity For The Ukraine will be staging a walk in support of the beleaguered people of the Eastern European country currently showing incredible courage and resilience under President Volodymyr Zelensky in the face of Vladimir Putin’s Russian invasion.

The aim of the walk across the bridge, due to take place from 12 noon on Sunday, is that by starting on both sides of the Tamar it will symbolically show Cornwall and Devon joining in solidarity with the people of Ukraine – and to reinforce the message people taking part are being asked to wear the Ukrainian national colours of blue and yellow if possible.

Those intending to take part in the walk of solidarity are also being asked to please donate to the British Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal and to share the message about the walk widely.

The latest news from the war zone is that the UN estimates that 422,000 people have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries and more than 100,000 people are now displaced within Ukraine itself. The UN has also so far confirmed that there have been 94 civilian deaths during the first days of fighting – though it believes a severe humanitarian crisis is emerging and that the number of civilian deaths could turn out to be considerably higher.

Despite this, a two-day curfew in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv was lifted this morning and people are said to have emerged from underground shelters and subway stations as supermarkets reopen.

Meanwhile the BBC news service says that Ukraine’s defence ministry is claiming that around 5,300 Russian soldiers have been killed so far during the invasion, and they also claim that 191 tanks, 29 fighter jets, 29 helicopters and 816 personnel carriers have been destroyed by Ukraine’s forces.

At shortly after 9am this morning the Ukrainian authorities announced that their delegation had arrived at the Ukraine-Belarus border to start peace talks with the Russian delegation. They will be calling for a ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine – though President Zelensky has said that he doesn’t expect there to be a breakthrough from these talks. However, he said that every chance of peace should be tried so Ukraine cannot be blamed for not trying to stop the conflict.

In Russia there is said to be panic as new sanctions from countries around the world caused the rouble to lose 30 per cent of its value and there are warnings there may be a run on the banks.