Talks underway as Kyiv fights on, U.S. extends sanctions

As fierce fighting continued across Ukraine on Monday, Kyiv said it would push for a cease-fire at talks with officials from Moscow.

The meeting on the Belarusian border comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his nuclear deterrent force to be on high alert, a huge escalation in Russia's confrontation with Western powers who have increased their supply of lethal aid to Ukraine and imposed crippling financial sanctions on Moscow.

The United States announced Monday morning it would ban all American businesses from dealing with Russia's central banks, as well as freezing the assets of a Putin associate.

Those sanctions were felt across Russia on Monday, as the value of the ruble went into freefall and Moscow's central bank raised interest rates from 9.5 percent to 20 percent to protect people's savings.