Yahoo Autos Russia says it has 'drastically' reduced military activity near Kyiv; Biden, Pentagon skeptical: March 30 recap
Editor's note: This page recaps the news from Ukraine on Tuesday, March. 29. Follow here for the latest updates and news from Wednesday, March 30, as Russia's invasion continues.
The Russian military said Tuesday that it had "drastically" reduced its activity near the Ukraine capital of Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv as talks with Ukraine aimed at ending the war entered the “practical” stage.
Russia and Ukraine held face-to-face talks Tuesday in Turkey as the United Nations pressed for a cease-fire in Russia's brutal invasion. The talks took place in the Turkish presidential office in Istanbul and lasted more than three hours, Russia's Tass agency reported.
Alexander Fomin, Russia's deputy minister of defense, said the military cutbacks were made to “increase mutual trust and create conditions for further negotiations.”
President Joe Biden, who had a call with European leaders Tuesday morning to discuss aiding Ukraine and pressuring Russia to end the war, was asked about the Russian claim of a military cutback near Kyiv.
"We'll see,'' he said.
The Pentagon sounded even more skeptical, as press secretary John Kirby said the pullout of troops was small and they may be reassigned.
"We're not prepared to call this a retreat or even a withdrawal,'' Kirby said in a news briefing. "We think what they probably had in mind is a repositioning to prioritize elsewhere.''
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed mistrust in “the words coming from representatives of the country that continues fighting to destroy us,” pointing out that although the direction of the current peace talks is positive, it "can’t silence explosions of Russian shells.”
Ukraine’s military said it had detected withdrawals around the cities, and U.S. Gen. Tod Wolters, commander of the U.S. European Command, said that is “exactly what we see.” The Russian advance on Kyiv had stalled in recent weeks, but missile strikes have battered the city and left shortages of food, water and other necessities for a population of almost 3 million people.
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Negotiations for a cease-fire being held in Turkey are expected to continue Wednesday. The head of the Ukrainian delegation, David Arahamiya, said his side presented an official proposal for a new system of security guarantees. The proposed security pledge will not apply to the parts of Ukraine whose status remains in dispute – Crimea, which Russia considers its territory after annexing it in 2014, and the breakaway Donetsk and Lugansk areas.
"We insist that it be an international treaty signed by all security guarantors who ratify," Arahamiya said. "We want it to be an international mechanism of concrete security guarantees for Ukraine."
Lead Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said Ukraine pledged not to join any military alliance and not to host foreign military bases or foreign troops. Even military exercises would require prior approval from guarantors, according to the proposal.
Kyiv also pledged not to seek to obtain weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, Medinsky said. In return, Ukraine requires that Russia will not object to Ukraine joining the EU one day.
Zelenskyy has said his country was prepared to declare its neutrality, as Moscow has demanded, and was open to working out a compromise over the contested eastern region of Donbas over the next 15 years.
Latest developments
►Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher on Wednesday as talks on ending Russia’s war on Ukraine appeared to make progress. Shanghai, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced, while Tokyo declined. Oil prices advanced less than $1 per barrel.
►The White House denied “disinformation” claims by Russia that the U.S. government is launching cyber operations against Moscow that include the theft of personal data and the spreading of false information about the Russian military.
►The Pentagon is sending a 200-person Marine Corps command-and-control unit to Lithuania, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Tuesday. The unit had been participating in a training mission in Norway. The Pentagon has been sending troops and equipment to shore up NATO’s eastern flank following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
►Britain’s government has seized a superyacht owned by a Russian billionaire with ties to Vladimir Putin — the first vessel to be detained in the U.K. under sanctions imposed because of the war in Ukraine. The vessel's owner was not identified.
►Russia has destroyed more than 60 religious buildings across Ukraine in just over a month of war. Most of the damage is concentrated near Kyiv and in the east, Ukraine’s military said Tuesday.
►Nine people were killed when a Russian missile slammed into a nine-story government building in Mykolayiv, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday. At least 20 people were wounded.
'We’ll see': Biden not ready to believe Russia’s military reduction
President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he will wait until Russia follows through on its stated plans to scale back its military presence near the Ukraine capital of Kyiv before judging the significance of the move.
“We’ll see,” Biden told reporters when asked for his view on Russia’s announcement. “I don't read anything into it until I see what their actions are. We'll see if they follow through on what they're suggesting.”
Alexander Fomin, Russia's deputy minister of defense, said Russia has “drastically” reduced its military activity near Kyiv and Chernigov amid talks with Ukraine on a peace deal. He said the military cutbacks were made to “increase mutual trust and create conditions for further negotiations.”
Biden referenced the negotiations as he discussed a Tuesday morning phone call he had with United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
In the nearly one-hour call, they talked about continuing to provide military aid to Ukraine and making Russia pay a high price for ruthlessly attacking its neighbor, the White House said.
“There seems to be a consensus that let’s just see what they have to offer,” Biden said of his conversation with the European leaders. “We’ll find out what they do. But in the meantime, we're going to continue to keep (strengthening) the sanctions. We’re going to continue to provide the Ukrainian military with their capacity to defend themselves. And we're going to continue to keep a close eye on what's going on.”
— Joey Garrison
Pentagon on Russia's withdrawal announcement: 'We're not taking anything they say at face value'
The Pentagon reacted with skepticism Tuesday to Russia’s claims that it has withdrawn forces near Kyiv.
While small numbers of Russian troops have moved back from positions around the Ukrainian capital, the Pentagon believes it is repositioning, not a real withdrawal, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said.
“It’s not anywhere near a majority of what they have arrayed against Kyiv,” Kirby said.
