The bombings – and intensifying Russian attacks in other parts of the country – have dampened optimism about any progress in the talks aimed at ending the punitive war.
The announcement by the Russian military on Tuesday that it would de-escalate near Kyiv, the capital, and Chernihiv to “boost mutual trust” was met with deep suspicion by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the West.
Shortly afterwards, Ukrainian officials reported that Russian bombings had hit homes, shops, libraries and other political venues in and around Chernihiv and on the outskirts of Kiev.
Russian troops have also stepped up their attacks around the eastern city of Izyum and in the eastern part of Donetsk following the redeployment of some units from other areas, the Ukrainian side said.
Olexander Lomako, secretary of the Chernihiv city council, said the Russian announcement turned out to be “a complete lie”.
“At night, they did not decrease, but conversely increased the intensity of military action,” Lomako said.
The Korolenko Chernihiv Regional Universal Scientific Library appears to have been devastated by night bombardment in Chernihiv on Wednesday. (Vladislav Savenok / The Associated Press)
“Political infrastructure facilities, libraries, shopping malls, many houses were destroyed in Chernihiv,” said Chernihiv Governor Vyacheslav Chaus, adding that there were also strikes in Nizhny Novgorod, about 100 kilometers south.
Regarding Russia’s announcement that it would cut its military activity, he said: “Do we believe that? Of course not.”
Oleksandr Pavliuk, head of the military district administration of the capital, said on Wednesday that 30 Russian bombs had been dropped on residential areas and civilian infrastructure in the Bucha, Brovary and Vyshhorod districts around Kyiv in the past 24 hours.
CLOCKS Zelensky expresses skepticism about Russia’s withdrawal:
Zelensky expresses skepticism about Russian withdrawal from Kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said there was no reason to believe Russia’s announcement that it would reduce military activity near Kyiv, given what is happening on the ground. 6:06
Economic consequences
Five weeks after the invasion, with the death toll estimated at thousands on both sides, the number of Ukrainians fleeing the country has exceeded a staggering four million, or about a tenth of the population, according to the United Nations. Half of those who fled are children, the UN said.
“I do not know if we can still believe the Russians,” said Nikolai Nazarov, a refugee from the northeastern city of Hakriev, who has been under heavy bombardment since the invasion began on February 24 as he pushed his father’s wheelchair into a crossing the border with Poland.
“I believe that there will be more escalation in eastern Ukraine. That is why we can not return to Kharkov.”
Meanwhile, the economic implications of the war and Western sanctions against Moscow have widened.
Russia typically supplies Europe with about 40 percent of its gas, but the possibility of a supply cut by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine has risen in the past week, with the G7 rejecting a request for a ruble payment.
Germany and Austria launched early warning plans on Wednesday amid concerns that Moscow could cut gas supplies, while Poland announced measures to cut off all Russian oil imports by the end of the year.
The German government has said it is setting up a crisis team to step up monitoring of gas supplies and called on companies and households to save energy.
Hours later, however, German officials said Chancellor Olaf Solz had received assurances from Russian President Vladimir Putin that European companies would not have to pay for Russian gas supplies in rubles, but could continue to pay in euros, such as defined by existing contracts.
Those evacuated from Irpin gather at a relief center on the outskirts of Kiev on Wednesday. (Rodrigo Abd / The Associated Press)
In a round of talks in Istanbul on Tuesday, the blurred outlines of a possible peace deal appeared to emerge when the Ukrainian delegation offered a framework under which the country would declare itself neutral. It would abandon its bid to join NATO, as Moscow has long called for, in exchange for security guarantees from a group of other nations.
Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, said Ukraine’s readiness to consider a neutral regime would respond to a key Russian request.
Medinsky said in television comments that the proposals signaled Ukraine’s readiness to reach an agreement “for the first time in years.” If Ukraine makes its offer, he said, “the threat of a NATO bridgehead on Ukrainian soil will be eliminated.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov also made a positive note, but included a warning: “We can not say that there was anything promising or a significant discovery.”
The Ukrainians are queuing up as they await further transfer to Medyka, Poland, after crossing the border on Tuesday. (Angelos Tzortzinis / AFP / Getty Images)
After the Kremlin announced that it would reduce some of its military operations, Zelensky reacted by saying that when dealing with the Russians, “you can only trust concrete results.”
“We judge the Russian military machine by its actions, not just by its words,” British Vice President Dominique Raab also told Sky News. “Obviously there is some skepticism that he will regroup to attack again instead of dealing seriously with diplomacy.
“Of course, the door to diplomacy will always be ajar, but I do not think you can trust what comes out of Putin’s war machine.”
The skepticism seemed justified on Wednesday.
CLOCKS The latest victims of the war in Ukraine:
The youngest victims of the war in Ukraine
Inside the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv, exhausted medical staff removes shrapnel, restores limbs and sutures war wounds to Ukrainian children. The hospital’s press secretary, Anastasia Magerramova, says the hospital is displaying images of children to let people know the truth about the war in Ukraine. 14:44
Consultations follow after the talks
Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, said the negotiators would pass on Ukraine’s proposals to Putin and then Moscow would respond, but did not say when. The talks were expected to resume on Wednesday, but with what Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu described as “substantial” progress, the two sides decided to return home for consultations. The Ukrainian delegation offered the third neutrality in exchange for security guarantees from a group of third countries, including the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Turkey, China and Poland, in an arrangement similar to NATO. “An attack on one is an attack on the beginning of all.” CLOCKS Experience in good service of Ukrainian soldiers, says the trainer:
Training, experience, morale serving Ukrainian soldiers well, says Canadian military trainer
The training of Ukrainian soldiers from Canada and their military experience in Donbas serve them well in the war with Russia, says the former military trainer Lieutenant Colonel. Melanie Lake, but also their strong motivation, he said. “I believe they will win.” 7:48
Ukraine has also said it would be willing to hold talks for a 15-year period on the future of the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula in 2014.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that in the past 24 hours, the United States has seen some Russian troops moving north from Kyiv to Belarus, but did not see it as a withdrawal, just an attempt by Moscow to resupply, reposition and then relocate. reposition its troops.
Top Russian military officials have said in recent days that their main goal now is to “liberate” Donbas, the predominantly Russian-speaking industrial hub in the east, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014.
Western officials say Moscow is sending troops to Donbas.
Some analysts have suggested that the apparent reduction of the Kremlin’s war targets and the commitment to de-escalation may simply be an attempt to set a positive turn in reality: Moscow’s ground troops have failed – and suffered heavy losses – in trying to seize capital and many other cities.
Meanwhile, a rocket destroyed part of an apartment building in the rebel-held city of Donetsk early Wednesday, killing two people. The separatists blamed the Ukrainian forces for the attack.
“I was just sitting on the couch and – bam! – the window shattered, the windows came off. I did not even understand what happened,” said resident Anna Gorda.
A damaged logistics warehouse in the Brovary district of Kiev. About 50,000 tonnes of food were wasted after being hit by Russian bombing on March 13. (Metin Aktas / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images)
The number of refugees exceeds 4 million
Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency announced on Wednesday that more than four million people had fled Ukraine after the Russian invasion, a new milestone in Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has posted on a website monitoring refugee flows around the world that 4.01 million people have now fled Ukraine. Of these, 2.3 million have entered Poland. CLOCKS Survivors describe what they have lost:
Heartbreaking stories of war loss and survival in Ukraine
Two refugees share their personal stories of fleeing the Ukraine war – Olga Shairova lost her husband and parents in a Russian rocket attack, and Lesya Bodarenko survived the bombing as she escaped with her nine-month-old baby. 3:56
Humanitarian aid workers say the flow has eased in recent days as many people wait for developments in the war. An estimated 6.5 million people have also been displaced from their homes inside Ukraine.
The UN Food Aid Service announced that it provides …
