Heavy fighting broke out near the Ukrainian capital on Thursday, just days after the Kremlin said it would “radically” reduce its fighting forces there as a goodwill gesture.
Oleksandr Palviuk, governor of the Kyiv oblast, said on Telegram Thursday that Russian forces continued their shelling of Irpin and Makariv and that there were battles around Hostomel.
Pavliuk said there were Ukrainian counterattacks and some Russian withdrawals around the suburb of Brovary to the east.
He said Ukrainian forces were conducting operations “in all directions.”
The fighting comes just two days after Russia claimed it would scale back its forces around Kyiv and Chernihiv amid peace talks in Istanbul. Shelling has continued unabated, however, and a Pentagon analysis Wednesday said less than 20 percent of Russia’s forces had moved since the announcement.
There were Ukrainian counterattacks in suburbs to the east. Getty Images
Russia continued its shelling of suburbs near Kyiv, Irpin and Makariv. Getty ImagesThose forces were seen making their way to the Belarusian border, where Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said they were expected to be rearmed and returned to the fight.
As the fighting continues, so does the movement of civilians inside Ukraine, with more than 6.5 million people internally displaced since the start of the war, according to the United Nations.
Photos from the outskirts of Kyiv Thursday showed a Ukrainian soldier balancing on a pipeline with a baby in hand, helping a displaced family cross a river.
Russia had promised to reduce its attacks in Kyiv as a goodwill gesture during peace negotiations. AFP via Getty Images
The Pentagon says that less than 20 percent of Russian forces have moved since they promised to reduce their presence in Kyiv. Kyodo News/Sipa USA
Russia is preparing to escalate its attacks in the Donbas region. Getty ImagesOn his Telegram feed, Pavliuk listed “dangerous directions” for civilians to travel, which included westward toward Zhytomyr and Makariv.
Russian forces Thursday were also concentrating on the Donbas region in the east.
Home to the cities Mariupol and Donetsk, the Donbas region has been a flashpoint since 2014 when Russian forces backed a separatist movement in concert with their annexation of Crimea.
In his morning briefing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged “a buildup of Russian forces for new strikes on the Donbas, and we are preparing for that.”
With Post wires
