Russia now says talks with Ukraine in Turkey had no progress

Ukraine submitted a list of requirements at the start of negotiations Tuesday in Istanbul, Turkey, aimed at ending the 36-day war, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a press conference Wednesday.

An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodyyr Zelensky said the two sides discussed conditions of a possible ceasefire, as well as international security guarantees for Ukraine during Tuesday's session.

Ukrainian negotiators also declared readiness for Kiev to have a neutral status and commit to not membership in NATO or other military alliances in exchange for security guarantees from Western countries, including the US, Britain, France, Turkey, China and Poland. Among other things, the Kremlin has been demanding that Ukraine give up any hope of joining NATO.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was a positive “=x1> Ukraine has submitted its written proposals, but added there was no progress in the talks.

Meanwhile, Russian forces continued to hit areas around Kiev and the other Ukrainian town of Chernihiv overnight, local officials said Wednesday, just hours after Moscow promised to reduce military operations in those areas. The promise was made by the Russian delegation in Turkey's talks.

Russia did not explain exactly what it meant to reduce military activity, and Ukraine's president Voldymyr Zelenskiy and others expressed distrust of Moscow's promise.

We have no reason to believe the words of representatives of a state that continues to fight for our destruction. Ukrainians are not naive people”, President Zelenskiy said.

Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said today that despite Moscow's promise, the noise of shelling continued to be heard around the capital.

We received information that Russian forces had left Kiev. That's not true. All night long we've heard and seen their attacks and heard major explosions east and north of Kiev, which means that fighting is taking place, that people are dying today”, the mayor said.

Even the governor of Chernihivi, Viacheslav Chaus, said today that Russia had not respected the promise to reduce military operations.

Mr. Chaus said Russian forces continued to strike civilian targets in his city.

The reform of activity in the Chernihivi region was a lie, as demonstrated by the enemy's attacks involving the air strikes in Nizhen, and throughout the night they bombed Chernihivin,” he said.

Some Western military experts point out that Russia's promise to reduce fighting relates mainly to areas where it has lost ground and that this does not mean the threat to Kiev is over.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday that Russia is simply reviewing its strategy.

So, we shouldn't be fooled by the Kremlin's latest claim that it will completely suddenly reduce military attacks near Kiev, or by reports that it will withdraw all forces. Has there been any movement by Russian units to get out of Kiev in the last few days? Yeah, small moves. But we believe this is a reposition, not a real withdrawal”, he said.

The British Defence Ministry said large losses have forced several Russian units to return to Belarus and Russia to re-organise, but that Moscow is likely to compensate for reductions of ground maneuvers with massive artillery. Meanwhile, the Russian Army reported a new round of bombings on Ukraine's arsenals and fuel depots over the past 24 hours.