Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used a midnight speech Monday to praise his forces who recaptured Irpin, a suburb of Kiev, and a major gateway to the capital, the latest in a series of counterattacks that repulsed Russian forces. “The conquerors were repulsed by Irpin. “He was repulsed from Kyiv,” Zelensky said. “However, it is too early to talk about security in this part of our region. The battles continue. “Russian troops control the northern part of Kiev, they have the resources and the manpower.” While Ukraine’s exact gains have not been independently verified, the UK said Zelensky’s forces had made progress in “mounted counterattacks” in northwestern Kiev, including Irpin, Bucha and Hostomel. “These attacks have had some success and the Russians have been repulsed from many positions,” the defense ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. Zelensky’s remarks came as Russian and Ukrainian envoys gathered in Istanbul for a fourth round of talks to end the war in Ukraine. While negotiators have outlined a possible ceasefire and are moving towards a political settlement, diplomats in Kyiv, Moscow and the West say they remain skeptical of any imminent progress. The two sides are discussing a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian corridors as part of a possible deal that would see Ukraine abandon its bid to join NATO in exchange for security guarantees and the prospect of EU membership, according to those familiar with the talks.

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With Russia’s month-long ground offensive largely halted, Moscow has signaled its willingness to back down from some of its most difficult initial demands. But Ukraine and its Western backers fear that Russian President Vladimir Putin could use the talks as a ploy to replenish his forces in preparation for a new offensive. According to four people who were briefed on the discussions, the draft ceasefire documents do not include a reference to “demilitarization”, “demilitarization” and legal protection of the Russian language in Ukraine. Moscow is also ready to let Kyiv join the EU if it remains militarily non-aligned, the people said. David Arachamia, leader of Zelensky’s party in parliament and a member of the Kiev negotiating team, told the FT that the parties were close to an agreement on security guarantees and Ukraine’s EU bid, but called for attention to the prospects for a significant progress. “All issues were ‘on the table’ from the beginning ‘of the negotiations,” he said, but warned that there were “many points – as in any issue there are unresolved points”. Dmitry Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said the country’s negotiators “will not exchange people, land and sovereignty” during the talks. With the war in its second month, Russia has increasingly focused on advancing eastward, aiming to wrap Ukrainian forces there while throwing troops into the fierce battle for the port city of Mariupol in the Sea of ​​Azov. Zelensky rebuked European countries on Tuesday for continuing to fund Putin’s war through Russian oil markets, saying it was pointless to suspend further sanctions until more deadly weapons could be used. “Isn’t everything worth doing and the Russian army has already done an oil embargo worth it?” he said. In addition to the counterattacks around Kyiv, Ukraine claimed momentum on the battlefield in the Sumy area northwest of the second city of Kharkov and near the city of Izyum to the east, claiming to have recaptured the settlements of Kamyanka and Topolske. Ukrainian forces are also advancing on the southern Kherson region. Most of the territorial gains are limited in scope and cannot be verified independently. But apart from the fact that the United Kingdom noted that Ukraine had “some success” around Kyiv, the Pentagon on Monday confirmed that Ukrainian forces had recaptured the city of Trostyanets, northwest of Kharkov. Vadim Denishenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, said on Tuesday that although Ukrainian forces were “slightly repelling the enemy”, Kyiv “remains one of the main targets of this war for Putin”. If confirmed, the recapture of Irpin would mark an important moment for Ukrainian forces, as the northern suburb of Kiev has been the scene of heavy fighting since the start of the war.

In a briefing on Tuesday, the Ukrainian military said Russian troops had been “weakened” and “disoriented”, with some units cut off from supply lines and main forces. He said Russia was resorting to “indiscriminate artillery fire and rocket attacks” to compensate for the “reduction in the combat potential of enemy units”. On Tuesday morning, a Russian missile destroyed the building of the Mykolayev regional administration, Governor Vitaly Kim said. According to the United Kingdom, the Wagner Group, a private military organization whose mercenaries have fought in Ukraine and Syria and are based in Mali and the Central African Republic, has “expanded into eastern Ukraine” and is expected to send more than 1,000. fighters. “Because of the heavy losses and a largely halted invasion, Russia may have had to redefine Wagner’s staff for Ukraine at the expense of operations in Africa and Syria,” he said. Through fierce street-to-street fighting, mainly against Azov’s hard-fought soldiers, Russian troops continue to advance into the center of the devastated port of Mariupol, which Ukraine has claimed remained in control. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko told CNN on Monday that 160,000 people remained in the city, where “it is impossible to live because there is no water, no electricity, no heat.” “It’s really scary,” Boichenko said, adding: “We need a complete evacuation from Mariupol.” Video: China, Russia and the war in Ukraine