Ukraine and Western allies waited on Wednesday for signs that Moscow was “radically” reducing military activity around Kyiv, as promised in peace talks, with skepticism high after Washington warned Russian troops were being repositioned and not withdrawn.
Both sides called talks in Istanbul “meaningful” and “positive”, in sharp contrast to previous rounds, raising hopes after more than a month of war that has killed thousands and displaced millions.
Russia’s deputy defense minister Alexander Fomin said there was progress on “the neutrality and non-nuclear status” of Ukraine — two central Russian concerns.
And he said Russia would “radically, by several times reduce the military activity” around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernigiv.
But the pledge was met with skepticism in Ukraine and Western capitals, with the Pentagon saying Russia had merely repositioned a “small number” of forces near Kyiv, but could be preparing a “major offensive” elsewhere.
The “vast majority” of Russian forces around Kyiv remained in place, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
“We’ve only seen a small number begin to move away from Kyiv, mostly to the north.
“Russia has failed in its objective of capturing Kyiv,” the Pentagon spokesman added, but “it does not mean that the threat to Kyiv is over”.
Ukraine’s military also warned the withdrawal of Russian troops around Kyiv and Chernigiv “is probably a rotation of individual units and aims to mislead”.
On the ground overnight, air raid sirens sounded several times in the capital and continued into the morning.
‘We’ll see if they follow through’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described “positive” signs from the Istanbul talks, which are expected to continue via video, but said there were no plans to let down defenses.
The signals “do not drown out the explosions or Russian shells”, he said in a late Tuesday video address, urging no talk of lifting sanctions on Moscow until the war is over.
Ukraine’s Western allies said they had no plans to ease measures taken to punish Russia for the invasion.
“We’ll see if they follow through on what they’re suggesting,” US President Joe Biden said after speaking with the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy, who vowed no let-up in sanctions.
On Wednesday, Germany raised the alarm level under its emergency gas plan over fears Russia could cut supplies to countries that refuse its demand to be paid in rubles.
Washington meanwhile warned citizens that Moscow could “single out and detain” them in Russia, repeating calls for Americans in the country to leave immediately.
Still, the face-to-face talks in Istanbul marked the first sign of progress in discussions to end the conflict, with Kyiv’s negotiator David Arakhamia saying there were “sufficient” conditions for Zelensky to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
And optimism over the apparent progress sent European and US stock markets up, while oil prices fell by 5 percent as supply fears eased, and the ruble surged 10 percent against the dollar.
Moscow had already signaled last weekend that it was dialing back its war goals, focusing its military resources on capturing the eastern Donbas region.
In recent days, Ukraine’s fighters have recaptured territory including the strategic Kyiv suburb of Irpin, and Britain’s defense ministry said overnight “it is almost certain that the Russian offensive has failed in its objective to encircle Kyiv”.
“It is highly likely that Russia will seek to divert combat power from the north to their offensive in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions (of Donbas) in the east,” the ministry said.
‘Death everywhere’
On Tuesday a Russian missile strike on the southern town of Mykolaiv left at least 12 dead and 33 wounded, Ukrainian officials said.
“I was having breakfast in my apartment,” Donald, 69, a retired Canadian postal worker with Ukrainian residency told AFP. “I heard a whoosh, then a boom and my windows rattled.”
Another local resident, Viktor Gaivonenko, who was helping clean up the debris, said: “Putin is a bastard. That’s all there is to it.”
There was also no progress for the estimated 160,000 people still trapped with little food, water or medicine in the devastated southern port city of Mariupol.
Russian forces have encircled the city and their steady and indiscriminate bombardment has killed at least 5,000 people, but possibly as many as 10,000, according to one senior Ukrainian official.
France, Greece, and Turkey have been trying to organize a mass evacuation of civilians from the city, but talks between French President Emmanuel Macron and Putin ended Tuesday without a deal.
Elsewhere on the diplomatic front, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in China on Wednesday, in his first visit to Moscow’s key ally since the invasion.
Aid groups have called regularly for access to Mariupol, decrying hellish conditions, and Ukrainian officials have accused Russian troops of forcibly deporting residents to Russia.
Civilians who have managed to escape Mariupol describe a place with “death everywhere”.
“We buried our neighbors, we saw death everywhere and even my children saw it,” said Mariia Tsymmerman, who fled to Zaporizhzhia two weeks ago but is now making the perilous journey back to deliver supplies and help others leave.
“I know a woman who killed her own dog to feed her children,” she said.
