Russia-Ukraine conflict: Kyiv skeptical on Moscow's pledge to reduce attacks near capital

More than a month into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Russian forces continue to be met by fierce resistance from Ukrainians. Moscow previously pledged to reduce military attacks near Kyiv, but Ukraine has expressed doubt about the commitment.

Ukraine has questioned Russia’s pledge to scale back military attacks near Kyiv as well as in Chernihiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that there was no reason to believe in Russia’s promise, citing what is currently happening on the ground, with Russian forces continuing to bombard the cities with shells.

“Yes, we can call those signals that we hear at the negotiations positive. But those signals don’t silence the explosions of Russian shells,” said Zelenskyy.

“Of course, we see the risks. Of course, we don’t see any basis for trusting the words voiced by those or other representatives of the state that is continuing to fight for our destruction,” the Ukrainian leader added.

Peace talks are expected to resume Wednesday, as negotiators of Russia and Ukraine attempt to reach an agreement. So far, Ukraine has laid out a framework in which the country declares itself neutral, and its security would be guaranteed by other nations.

The governor of the Chernihiv region in Ukraine said Wednesday that there were no signs of scaling back military operations from Russian forces.

Thousands of Russian troops have so far been killed by Ukrainian resistance, and in recent days, the Kremlin changed its goals, saying that the main objective was to seize control of the separatist-occupied Donbas region in Ukraine. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin decreed that Donbas and Luhansk would be independent states which set off the invasion and the ongoing conflict.

In another video address to the nation Wednesday, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has approached a “turning point” in the ongoing conflict and urged Western countries to send more weapons. Zelenskyy pledged to fight for every inch of Ukrainian territory, saying that the country’s military forces are preparing for a new offensive from Russia in the eastern Donbas region as Moscow builds up troops in the area.

Zelenskyy referred to the scaling back of Russian troop movements from Kyiv and Chernihiv as a consequence of the resistance from Ukraine.