Russia Says It Will Scale Back Attacks Near Kyiv As Talks Continue

Russia announced today that, in any effort to “increase mutual trust,” it will scale back attacks near Ukraine’s capital and a northern city, as a possible cease-fire agreement between the two nations to end the five week war came into view at the latest round of talks. From AP News:

Ukraine’s delegation at the conference, held in Istanbul, laid out a framework under which the country would declare itself neutral and its security would be guaranteed by an array of other nations.

Moscow’s public reaction was positive, and the negotiations are expected to resume on Wednesday, five weeks into what has devolved into a bloody war of attrition, with thousands dead and almost 4 million Ukrainians fleeing the country.

Amid the talks, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said Moscow has decided to “fundamentally … cut back military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv” to “increase mutual trust and create conditions for further negotiations.”

The Kremlin said today its “main goal” is to firm up control of the Russian-speaking Donbas region. Some folks expressed skepticism that the scaling back would be “to increase mutual trust.” As AP News points out, Russia’s troops have “become bogged down and taken heavy losses” as they have tried to capture Kyiv. Pundits are wondering if Russia’s promise to scale back attacks is merely a ploy to redeploy forces elsewhere, or stall time so reinforcements from Russia might arrive. But U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken says he’s “skeptical that Russia is engaging genuinely in negotiations with Ukraine.”

Sec. of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. remains skeptical that Russia is engaging genuinely in negotiations with Ukraine to end its monthlong war against its neighbor. https://t.co/pKmgBLqFHg

— ABC News (@ABC) March 29, 2022

The White House says any movement of Russian forces away from Kiev is a redeployment, not a withdrawal.

— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) March 29, 2022