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.
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"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.
The Russians still have a significant majority of their combat power near Kyiv, Kirby said. President Vladimir Putin massed more than 150,000 troops for the invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces have retaken territory from the Russians west of Kyiv, Kirby said. To the east of Kyiv, the Ukrainians have pushed back Russian forces to more than 30 miles from the city.
It’s too early to judge what Russia will do next, Kirby said, but its aims have been clear.
“Russia has failed in its objective of capturing Kyiv,” Kirby said. “It’s failed in its objective of subjugating Ukraine.”
The British Defense Ministry Intelligence agreed the Russians have almost certainly failed in their effort to encircle Kyiv after repeated setbacks and counterattacks by Ukrainian forces.
Russian statements and reports that some units have left “may indicate Russia’s acceptance that it has now lost the initiative in the region,” according to a statement from Mick Smeath, Britain’s defense attache.
The Pentagon’s assessment that Russia is repositioning its forces is based in part on the shift of their military focus on eastern Ukraine, Kirby said.
“We’re not taking anything they say at face value,” Kirby said.
— Tom Vanden Brook
'We did not invite them here': Flow of refugees dwindles as some Ukrainians feel emboldened
Whether it stems from increased confidence in their military, an inability to flee or a desire to stay and fight, the flow of Ukrainians leaving the country nearly five weeks into the Russian invasion has slowed significantly.
Most of the 3.9 million refugees departed from Ukraine in early March, at a time when about 140,000 people were escaping into Poland every 24 hours. Now, about 30,000 refugees arrive per day in Poland, according to UN data. In Moldova, daily refugee counts have dropped from about 20,000 per day in early March to around 2,000, and 21,000 have actually gone back home.
As the Ukrainian military pushes back in the face of relentless bombardment, some citizens are feeling more emboldened.
“We are ready. We expect that Russia will come. And we will fight," said Odesa resident Alex Kobzev, 44, who has been coordinating aid distribution. “We are supposed to be all brothers, but we did not invite them here.''
-- Trevor Hughes
Chechnya leader says his fighters could take Kyiv
The leader of Russia's Chechnya province wants to storm Kyiv. Ramzan Kadyrov, speaking to about 10,000 troops in Chechnya’s regional capital of Grozny, said that “we need to complete what we have started," a reference to the Kremlin announcing it was backing off its assault on Kyiv to allow for negotiations.
Kadyrov has posted numerous videos in recent days that appear to feature him and Chechen fighters on the outskirts of Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine. Kadyrov said Moscow should have allowed his fighters to press the offensive.
“I’m more than confident that we would have entered Kyiv and established order there," he said.
Kremlin: US-Russia dialogue crucial despite Biden 'insults'
President Joe Biden's blunt criticisms of Russian President Vladimir Putin have a negative impact on relations but dialogue between Moscow and Washington is in the interests of the whole world, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.
"Insults cannot but leave their mark on relations between heads of state," Peskov said. "Especially personal insults, which in general should have no place in the rhetoric of the head of state."
Biden in recent days has referred to Putin as a "war criminal'' and on Saturday said Putin "cannot remain in power.'' The White House later clarified that Biden was not calling for regime change in Russia.
"One way or another, sooner or later we will have to talk about the issues of strategic stability, security and so on, in other words, those issues that only we can and should discuss," Peskov said.
Europe sends dozens of Russian diplomats home
At least four European allies expelled dozens of Russian diplomats Tuesday as relations between Russia and the West continue their plunge since the invasion. The Netherlands said it was expelling 17 Russians who it described as intelligence officers masquerading as diplomats. Belgium said it was ejecting 21 Russians, the Czech Republic one. Ireland told four senior Russian officials to leave the country because of activities deemed not “in accordance with international standards of diplomatic behavior." All this after Poland expelled 45 Russians last week.
“Together with our allies, we are reducing the Russian intelligence presence in the EU,” the Czech Foreign Ministry said.
US troop presence in Europe almost doubles, to 100,000
U.S. troop presence in Europe has swelled from 60,000 to about 100,000 as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Gen. Tod Wolters, commander of the U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO, told the Senate Armed Services committee on Tuesday.
"Russia's premeditated and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has galvanized our allies and global partners," he told the committee. "NATO's capabilities in space and cyberspace are more closely integrated than in any other time in the Alliance's history."
Wolters said the U.S. is supplying Ukraine with military requirements "to ensure they're getting the right equipment at the right time ... so they can best protect their forces."
Asked why Russia would have used hypersonic weapons in Ukraine, Wolters said it was likely done "to put fear in the hearts of the enemy, and I don't think they were successful." He said most of those strikes were aimed at military targets.
– Katie Wadington
Ukraine's defensive strategy could add to peril facing civilians
Ukraine's defense against Russian attacks could be increasing the risk to civilians in the war-torn nation, experts tell The Washington Post. Most neighborhoods in Ukraine's cities have become "militarized," making them potential targets for Russian forces, the Post says. Russia has been pounding some cities, and Ukrainians have responded by deploying air defense systems, heavy weaponry, soldiers and volunteers to residential areas. All are rich targets for Russian missiles.
“I am very reluctant to suggest that Ukraine is responsible for civilian casualties because Ukraine is fighting to defend its country from an aggressor,” William Schabas, an international law professor at Middlesex University in London, told the Post. “But to the extent that Ukraine brings the battlefield to the civilian neighborhoods, it increases the danger to civilians.”
Contributing: The Associated Press