Russia to scale down military activity near Kyiv, Chernihiv

GBNews24 Desk//

General Alexander Fomin, Russia’s deputy defense minister, told reporters that Russia would reduce its military activity around Kyiv and Chernihiv in light of the “meaningful” negotiations with Ukraine.

“In order to increase mutual trust and create the necessary conditions for further negotiations and achieving the ultimate goal of agreeing and signing (an) agreement, a decision was made to radically, by a large margin, reduce military activity in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions,” Fomin told reporters.

According to the AP news agency, Ukraine’s military said it had noted withdrawals around Kyiv and Chernihiv. However, the Pentagon said it could not confirm the reports.

Turkey said Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers were expected to meet in the next phase to set a mutual understanding and set the stage for a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin.

“We are extremely happy to see an increased rapprochement between the two sides at every stage,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.