Russia bombs Chernigov, and fighting continues around Kiev, despite commitment to reduce attacks

Date:

Tuesday’s meeting between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey ended without an expected ceasefire, but left a hopeful headline: the Russians will partially withdraw their troops from Kiev, Chernigov and northern Ukraine to “boost mutual trust.” . Several countries are skeptical of Russia’s intentions, and just hours after the lines of the peace agreement were drawn up, Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory continue.

Before Russia and Ukraine could talk, the Moscow Defense Ministry had already made it clear that they would carry out what they called a “special operation” to achieve their goals. After the meeting, if anyone had any doubts, the Russian delegation insisted that a partial reduction of the attacks did not imply a withdrawal or a ceasefire. This Wednesday, the Russians took another step by diminishing hopes for an agreement, and a Kremlin spokesman assured that no progress could be made in the talks.

According to the Ukrainian authorities, there were explosions in Chernigov throughout the night and the sound of anti-aircraft sirens continued in Kyiv.

The deputy mayor of Kiev, Mykola Povoroznik, assured Ukrainian television that no explosions had taken place in the capital tonight.

“The night passed relatively quietly due to the sound of sirens and quarrels around the city, but the city itself was not bombed,” he said.

However, it seems that the situation around the capital is far from calm. According to Vadim Denisenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, fighting broke out overnight in the nearby town of Irpin, which Ukraine had announced had been liberated from Russian troops.

In Chernigov, Mayor Vladislav Atroshenko assured that the city was under “enormous attack” despite Moscow’s promises to de-escalate. In an interview with CNN, Atroshenko said that this is another proof that “Russia is always lying” because the attacks “intensified” instead of diminishing.

Regional Governor Vyacheslav Chaus assured his Telegram channel that Russian bombing had continued throughout the night and that several airstrikes had been reported in the city of Nizhny Novgorod.

The enemy has shown a “reduction in activity” in the “Chernigov region” by attacks on Nizhny Novgorod, including air strikes and night bombings in Chernigov. “Once again, civilian infrastructure, such as libraries, shopping malls and many homes, has been completely destroyed,” Chaus wrote on Wednesday morning, referring to Russia’s failed commitment.

The Ukrainian authorities also condemn the ongoing attacks on Kharkov, as Governor Olay Sinehubov told the Telegram.

“For the last 24 hours, the Russian occupation forces have been constantly conducting artillery, mortar and bombardment,” the governor said, adding that it had caused fires in several districts of Kiev and Kharkov.

It can be said that the signals we hear in the negotiations are positive (…), but these signals do not silence the explosion of Russian shells.

Vladimir Zelensky
President of Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his already traditional overnight speech, pointed to Russia’s alleged commitments and assured that there was no reason to believe his promises given what was happening on the ground.

“We can say that the signals we heard during the talks are positive (…), but these signals do not silence the explosion of Russian shells,” he said, according to Ukrinform.

Zelensky assured that the Ukrainians are “not naive” and called for “not to reduce the defense.” “The Russian military still has significant potential to continue its attacks on our state,” he said, adding that defense efforts would not be curtailed.

International Skepticism

After the meeting with the Ukrainians in Istanbul, the gesture of “goodwill” made by Moscow met with skepticism from the international community, especially the United States.

The Pentagon said Tuesday that Russia had moved a “small number” of units near Kiev and ruled out that this was a “real withdrawal” because it kept “most of its troops” there.

“We believe this is a move, not a real withdrawal, and we should all be prepared to see a major offensive against other parts of Ukraine,” Defense Department spokesman John Kirby told a news conference. To fight in places like Donbass.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has warned that nice Russian words could be an attempt to “divert attention”. “This is what Russia is saying and what Russia is doing, and we are focused on the latter,” Blinken said in Morocco.

The Russians are cooling off a possible deal

The meeting in Istanbul on Tuesday concluded several points that both countries welcomed, such as Ukraine’s membership in NATO, the request to participate in the talks as a guarantee of Ukraine’s security, and the promise that Russia would reduce its attack in the north. .

The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, assured that the next step was to step up these protests so that they could be evaluated by Vladimir Putin in response.

A few hours later, Russia quickly showed that there was no agreement and there was still a lot of work to be done.

“Moscow can not say that there is any promising progress in the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, there is a long way to go,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a statement compiled by the Russian news agency TASS.


Source: El Diario

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Share post:

Subscribe

Popular

More like this
Related