INTERNATIONAL: Russia is ready to hold negotiations straight after the Ukrainian forces "lay down their arms," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.

When meeting with representatives of Lugansk and Donetsk, Lavrov has said Russia is not unwilling to talk with Ukraine on security issues, but it is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who made himself lose the opportunity for negotiation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday has authorized "a special military operation" in response to the appeal of the leaders of Lugansk and Donetsk in the Donbass region, three days after he signed two decrees recognizing the two "republics" as "independent and sovereign states".

Lavrov has at a press conference on Saturday that Putin is ready to talk with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and Ukraine should resolve security concerns first, and then Russia will end the military operation conditionally.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia's willingness for talks with Ukraine is active, and its stance on security guarantee remains unchanged.

Russia has expressed its willingness to talk with Ukraine, but Ukraine is mulling on whether to talk with Russia in Minsk.

Peskov has said Ukraine chose Warsaw as the place for talking, but didn't consult with Russia on follow-up matters, and Ukraine has started to build firing points in residential areas in cities including Kiev.

The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed on Friday that the Russian armed forces had disabled 211 military infrastructure facilities in Ukraine.