Zelensky dismisses Russian claims of pullback; US says Moscow repositioning troops

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is dismissing Russia’s vows to de-escalate fighting against its neighbor, saying his army is getting ready for further fighting in the east.

“We don’t believe anyone, not a single beautiful phrase,” Zelensky says in a video address to the nation, adding that Russian troops are regrouping to strike the eastern Donbass region.

“We will not give anything away. We will fight for every meter of our territory,” he adds.

After another round of peace talks in Istanbul on Tuesday, a Russian negotiator said Moscow would “radically” scale back its attacks around the capital Kyiv and the northern city of Chernigiv.

However, shelling has continued, including in areas where Russia had said it would scale back.

The Pentagon said Wednesday that

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby says over the last 24 hours it has seen some Russian troops in the areas around Kyiv moving north toward or into Belarus.

He says the US does not view this as a withdrawal, but as an attempt by Russia to resupply, refit and then reposition the troops.

“We don’t know exactly where these troops are going to go,” he tells CNN.

Kirby also says that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have continued to try to speak with their Russian counterparts but they have “not answered and they have not replied with a willingness to do so.”