US, Ukraine sceptical of Russia’s scale back claim; UK says Russian troops forced to return to Belarus: Top developments

Here are the top developments from the Ukraine war:

🔴 Following the latest round of negotiations set in Istanbul, Turkey, Russia vowed to reduce its military presence around Kyiv and Chernihiv. According to DW, Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky has said that the move amounts to “de-escalation”, and not a ceasefire.

🔴 US President Joe Biden, however, has expressed doubts over the claim. “I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are,” Biden was quoted as saying by AP. The White House has said, “no one should be fooled by Russia’s announcement”, adding that the move by Russian forces should be seen as “redeployment and not a withdrawal”.

Neighbours look at a group of villagers after arriving in Brovary, on the outskirts of Kyiv, evacuated by the Ukrainian government due to heavy fighting against Russia. (AP)

🔴 Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, too, expressed scepticism over Russia’s pledge. In a social media post, Tuesday, he said, “We can call positive the signals we hear from the negotiating platform. But these signals do not silence the explosion of Russian shells. Of course, we see all the risks. Of course, we see no reason to trust the words of certain representatives of a state that continues to fight for our destruction. Ukrainians are not naive people.”

🔴 The Ukrainian military, too, said, “There are indications that the Russian forces are regrouping to focus their efforts on eastern Ukraine.” “At the same time, the so-called ‘withdrawal of troops’ is most likely a rotation of individual units and is aimed at misleading the Ukrainian military leadership and creating a misconception about the occupiers’ refusal to plan to encircle the city of Kyiv,” the Ukrainian general staff of armed forces said.

🔴 UK’s military intelligence in its latest update Wednesday said, “Russian units suffering heavy losses have been forced to return to Belarus and Russia to reorganise and resupply.” It also warned that “Russia will likely continue to compensate for its reduced ground manoeuvre capability through mass artillery and missile strikes.”

A view of a destroyed building, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Irpin, Ukraine, March 29, 2022. (Reuters)

🔴 A Russian strike on the regional government’s building in Mykolaiv Tuesday has led to the loss of 12 lives, Ukrainian authorities said Wednesday, updating the earlier toll of seven deaths.

🔴 Lysychansk, a city in the Luhansk Oblast of Ukraine, was under heavy shelling Wednesday morning, according to local authorities quoted by The Guardian.

🔴 In its latest update, the Ukrainian military intelligence has claimed that units of the Russian military “were transferred from the occupied territories of Georgia to the territory of Ukraine in order to recruit the armed forces of the Russian Federation.”

— with agencies inputs