Russia has said it will significantly reduce its military operations in northern Ukraine following “significant” progress in peace talks in Istanbul. In what could be a major turning point in the more than a month after the attacks began, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Fomin said Moscow would “significantly reduce military operations near Kyiv and Chernihiv”.
However, western officials say they are “very wary” of the promises of Russian officials and fear that Vladimir Putin may want to take advantage of the situation. Negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegates had not yet reached the point where it was possible to talk about stopping the fighting, although there is a feeling that at least war is entering a new phase.
Moscow’s leading negotiator in Ukraine, Vladimir Medinsky, has said Russia’s promise to “significantly reduce” military operations does not represent a ceasefire. In an interview with Russia’s state-run Tass news agency, Medinsky said there was still a long way to go to reach an agreement with Ukraine. Following the Russian announcement, two top US officials said the US saw Russia begin withdrawing some of its troops from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in what he believed was a “major” change in Russia’s strategy.
An American official said any move by Russian troops around Kyiv would include “repatriation, not withdrawal”. The UK also saw signs of a “significant reduction” in the Russian bombing near Kyiv, Downing Street said. However, it emphasized that the UK was not in a position to comment on the merits of the agreement. “We do not want to see anything less than the total withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine,” a spokesman for the Prime Minister said. Ukraine has called for an “international security mechanism” similar to NATO’s 5th article, which obligates allies to protect one another. Ukraine’s top presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said the guarantee would include countries such as the US, UK, Turkey, France and Germany “who have a legal role to play in protecting [Ukraine] from any violence”.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow’s “main goal” in Ukraine is now the “freedom” of the Donbas region. With a hint that Moscow might switch to a moderate goal after facing strong Ukrainian opposition in the first month of the war, Shoigu said “the main tasks of the first phase of operation have been completed”. A Russian plane crash hit a government building in the southern Ukrainian port of Mykolaiv on Tuesday, destroying much of the building and leaving people trapped under the rubble. At least seven people have been killed and 22 injured, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Danish parliament in a video conference. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has called on Russia and Ukraine to reach a clear agreement on the safe evacuation of civilians in the besieged city of Mariupol and elsewhere in the past.
“Time is running out” for the people of Mariupol, he warned, adding that there is still a lack of “concrete agreements” for safe passage and evacuation of citizens in the southern Ukrainian city. The Kremlin has dismissed reports that Russian millionaire Roman Abramovich had developed toxic symptoms during informal talks earlier this month. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the reports were false and “part of the information war”.
A Ukrainian soldier who told a Russian warship to “go and deceive himself” while defending the island was rewarded for his services, local authorities said. Roman Hrybov was working on Snake Island – now known as Zmiinyi Island in Ukrainian – when a Russian air and sea storm struck on February 24. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said Hrybov had been released from Russian hostage and was now at home in Cherkasy. An unnamed £ 38m superyacht of an unnamed Russian businessman has been detained at Canary Wharf in London as part of a crackdown on Russia for its attack on Ukraine. The ship, known as Phi, is under arrest for the first superyacht in UK waters, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said, and its owner was “deliberately hidden”.
In a recent statement to Telegram, Zelenskiy said that Ukraine would not reduce its defensive efforts despite Russia’s promises of independence from other parts of the country. not to end the explosion of Russian shells, “he said. According to a recent review by the UK Department of Defense, “it is almost certain that the Russian invasion has failed in its mission to surround Kyiv”. Examination shows that of the Pentagon. “Russia has failed in its goal of capturing Kyiv,” a Pentagon spokesman said earlier. “It does not mean the Kyiv threat is over.”
China’s ambassador to the UN has addressed the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, describing a “worrying account of the situation on ground” and called for the protection of civilian lives and respect for international humanitarian law.
Dai Bing told the latest UN Security Council, according to a statement released by China’s permanent mission to the UN:
The conflict situation in Ukraine is persisting. Effectively protecting civilian lives and meeting their humanitarian needs is a must. China calls for respect for international humanitarian law to avoid civilian casualties to the maximum extent, protect civilian facilities, provide safe passage for evacuation and humanitarian access, and ensure a continuous supply of basic necessities, such as food, drinking water, and medicines. Protection of vulnerable groups such as women and children must be strengthened.”
Increasing sanctions on Russia will “give rise to new humanitarian problems”, Bing added.
We must also be cognisant that the ever-escalating, sweeping, indiscriminate sanctions have hit global energy, food, economic, trade and financial markets, and will continue to do so, affecting the lives and livelihoods of the general public, and giving rise to new humanitarian problems.”
Addressing global food security, Bing called for an “enhanced international coordination” to stabilise food supply and food prices and a “refrain from unjustified export restrictions”.
Sanctions and economic blockades will only artificially exacerbate food shortages and price distortions, further disrupt food production and food supply chain across the world, push up food prices, and put such burdens on developing countries as they do not deserve. We call for enhanced international coordination to stabilise food supply and food prices, refrain from unjustified export restrictions, keep the market working in a stable manner, and ensure global food security.
Finally, Bing cautioned that further damage is on its way if the crisis continues and escalates, describing such an event as being “not in the interest of any party”.
The most conclusive way towards a ceasefire to end hostilities is dialogue and negotiation. The international community should encourage and support continued direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine until a positive outcome is achieved and peace is restored. Security is indivisible and seeking absolute security by pitting one bloc against another is precisely the most assured way to achieve insecurity. The United States, Nato and EU should also engage in dialogue with Russia, accommodate the legitimate security concerns of all parties, and build a balanced, effective and sustainable regional security architecture through dialogue and negotiation.”