– Talks not ‘too promising’: Kremlin –
The Kremlin plays down hopes of a breakthrough following Tuesday’s peace talks in Istanbul, saying there was nothing “too promising” from the discussions.
The remarks contrast the positive assessment of Russian’s main negotiator who said the two sides had made progress on the issues of Ukrainian neutrality — a key Russian demand — and that Russian forces would scale back their attacks in northern Ukraine as a result.
– Chernihiv ‘shelled all night’ –
Authorities in the northern city of Chernihiv say the area was “shelled all night” despite Russia’s pledge on Tuesday to “radically” reduce fire there and around the capital Kyiv.
“The enemy has demonstrated its ‘decrease in activity’ in the Chernihiv region with strikes on Nizhyn (a town 90 km southeast of Chernihiv), including airstrikes. Chernihiv was shelled all night,” regional governor Vyacheslav Chaus writes on social media.
AFP reporters also hear explosions around the flashpoint Kyiv suburb of Irpin.
– ‘We’ll see’ –
Ukraine’s military says that the withdrawal vow could be an attempt to “mislead” their forces.
The West also reacts sceptically.
“We’ll see if they follow through on what they’re suggesting,” US President Joe Biden said after a phone call with the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Putin will be judged on “actions”, not “words”.
– Red Cross facility hit –
Russian strikes targeted a Red Cross facility in the destroyed southern port city of Mariupol, according to Ukrainian ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova.
She says the building, which was marked with a red cross on a white background, the symbol of the agency which helps people affected by war, was targeted in air and artillery strikes. There is no information yet on casualties.
– ‘Taken by force’ to Russia –
Mariupol denounces what it called the forced evacuation of people to Russia from one of its maternity hospitals.
The mayor’s office says more than 70 people “were taken by force by the occupiers” from the hospital and that in total 20,000 Mariupol residents have been taken “against their will” to Russia.
There is no way of independently verifying the information.
– Russia, China show unity –
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Russia and China are pursuing a “multipolar, just, democratic” world order on his first visit to Moscow’s key ally since the invasion of Ukraine.
China responds by saying that “China-Russia cooperation has no limits”.
Lavrov will this week also visit India, which, like China, has avoided condemning the Russian invasion.
– 1 million on food aid –
The UN says it is feeding one million people in Ukraine, but warns more are going hungry, with adults skipping meals so children can eat.
– 14 dead in Mykolaiv strike –
Fourteen people were killed and dozens injured when a Russian missile strike hits a regional government building in Mykolaiv.
– Four million refugees –
More than four million Ukrainians have fled the country since the start of the war, the United Nations says.
