Scepticism greets Russian pledge to deescalate around Kyiv

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Ukraine and Western allies waited till Wednesday for signs Moscow was “radically” reducing military activity around Kyiv, as promised in peace talks, with scepticism high after Washington warned Russian troops were being repositioned and not withdrawn.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 of discussions, raising hopes after more than a month of war that has killed thousands and displaced millions. Russia’s deputy defence 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 scepticism 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 defences.