Ukraine prepares for Russian attack in the east

In a speech early Thursday morning, Zelensky said that Russian forces had moved away from Kyiv and Chernihiv. However, he does not want to talk about it as a regression but as “the consequences of the work of the Ukrainian defenders,” he wrote to Reuters.

He added that Ukraine believes that Russia is “gathering its forces to launch new attacks on the Donbass region, and we are preparing for this.”

Ukraine express doubts Against Russian promises to reduce troop numbers militarily around Chernihiv and Kiev, Russia said after talks in Istanbul on Tuesday. Even after the Russian announcement, there were reports of fierce battles and Russian attacks around the two cities.

Two regions in the Donbass region Eastern Ukraine, which consists of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, has been under the control of Russian-backed separatists since 2014. Russia has controlled other parts since the February 24 invasion, and Ukraine still controls other parts.

Russia said last week that the “first phase of the military operation” had ended and that it was regrouping militarily to “liberate” Donbass.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also stressed that Russia is regrouping its forces, not withdrawing its forces.

“Russia is trying to regroup, renew and strengthen the offensive in the Donbass region,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels on Thursday.

– At the same time, Russia continues to put pressure on Kiev and other cities. So we can expect more attack, with more suffering.

In the Donbass is besieged Mariupol Which was largely destroyed in the Russian attacks. It is estimated that about 170,000 people are stuck in the city, where there is a huge shortage of food and water, among other things. Russian forces took control of half of the city, according to one of Zelensky’s advisers.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshuk announced Thursday morning, following Russian promises of a temporary ceasefire, that a bus convoy is heading towards Mariupol.

“45 buses are on their way to Mariupol,” it said in a statement.

The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed Russia agreed to open a so-called humanitarian corridor outside Mariupol on Thursday. It looks like the evacuation could start on Friday. In previous attempts, Kyiv accused Russia of not adhering to cease-fire agreements.

After talks in Istanbul this week, the first with negotiators in actual place in two weeks, Ukraine said it could deal with military neutrality provided there are security guarantees from other countries. Negotiations will resume digitally on Friday, April 1, Reuters writes.

Five weeks have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday. Thousands of people have been killed and more than four million Ukrainians have been forced to flee the country, and six million Ukrainians have fled the country, according to the United Nations.

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