Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that it had decided to “drastically reduce hostilities” in the direction of Kiev and Chernigov, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said, according to state media RIA. The United States has said Russia will cover its withdrawal with airstrikes and artillery shelling in the capital, one official said. US officials warn that Russia could always reverse if the fighting conditions allow. The move follows peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul on Tuesday. It also comes as President Joe Biden has a call with French President Emanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Solz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine. In the US view, this is not a short-term adjustment for reconstruction, but a longer-term move as Russia faces failure to move north. The official said one consequence the US was concerned about was keeping its European allies united in terms of financial pressure and military support, as Washington expects some of them to pressure Ukraine to accept a peace deal to end battles. Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken warned on Tuesday that Russia’s statement that it would reduce hostilities around Kyiv could be “a means by which Russia once again tries to divert and deceive people into believing that it does not he does what he does “. “If they somehow believe that an attempt to subjugate ‘only’ – in quotation marks – the eastern part of Ukraine and the southern part of Ukraine can succeed, then once again they are deeply fooling themselves,” Blinken said. in the common press. conference with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita. The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence says Russian President Vladimir Putin could seek to divide Ukraine into two, such as North and South Korea. Prison. General Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Service, said that Russian operations around Kyiv had failed and that it was no longer possible for the Russian military to overthrow the Ukrainian government. Putin’s war has now focused on the south and east of the country, he said. “There is reason to believe that it is considering a ‘Korean’ scenario for Ukraine. [Russian forces] “It will try to impose a dividing line between the non-occupied and occupied areas of our country,” Budanov said, adding: “In fact, it is an attempt to create North and South Korea in Ukraine.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that Ukraine was ready to accept a neutral regime as part of a peace deal with Russia. “Security guarantees and the neutral, non-nuclear status of our state. We are ready to accept that. This is the most important point,” Zelensky said. “The issues of Donbas and Crimea must be discussed and resolved” in the peace talks, Zelensky also said. CNN’s Michael Conte and Jeremy Herb contributed to this report.
