NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880/AP) -- Russian forces pounded areas around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv overnight, officials said Wednesday, just hours after Moscow pledged to scale back military operations in those places. Ukrainian officials said Russian shelling hit homes, shops, libraries and other “civilian infrastructure.” The shelling soured optimism of any progress following Tuesday’s peace talks aimed at ending the five-week-long war. Moscow reacted coolly to Kyiv's proposed framework for a peace deal, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying it was a “positive factor” that Ukraine submitted its written proposals but that he saw no breakthrough. Meanwhile, more than 4 million refugees have fled Ukraine.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2022
8:58 p.m.- The talks between Ukraine and Russia will resume on Friday by video, according to the head of the Ukrainian delegation, David Arakhamia.
The delegations met in-person on Tuesday in Istanbul, after two weeks of meeting by video, and the faint outlines of a possible peace agreement seemed to emerge.
The Ukrainian delegation offered a framework under with the country would declare itself neutral – dropping its bid to join NATO, as Moscow has long demanded – in return for security guarantees from a group of other nations.
Russian diplomats responded positively to Ukraine’s proposal.
7:14 p.m.- A U.K. intelligence chief warned that Russia is looking for targets for cyber attacks and soliciting mercenaries to shore up forces in Ukraine
A U.K. intelligence chief is warning that Russia is looking for cyber targets and bringing in mercenaries to shore up its stalled military campaign in Ukraine.
Jeremy Fleming, who heads the U.K.’s GCHQ electronic spy agency, said Russian President Vladimir Putin “massively misjudged” his chances for a swift military victory in Ukraine.
In a speech in Australia, Fleming praised Ukraine’s “information operation” for effectively countering Russia’s big disinformation campaign about the war.
While there were expectations that Russia would launch a major cyberattack as part of its military campaign, Fleming said such a move was never part of Moscow’s playbook.
But Fleming warns that Russia’s “cyber actors are looking for targets in the countries that oppose their actions.”
3:50 p.m. - Red Cross warehouse hit by military strike; a 'gross violation': Ukrainian official
A Red Cross Warehouse in Mariupol was struck by at least two Russian military strikes, according to satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies.
An International Committee of the Red Cross spokesperson confirmed to CNN that the building struck was is a Red Cross warehouse.
"We do not have a team on the ground, so we have no other information, including on potential casualties or the extent of the damage," said spokesperson Jason Straziuso. "We can say that we had already distributed all aid supplies in the warehouse.”
Straziuso said no staff had been at the facility since March 15 and that the organization does not know how the building may have been used since then.
Liudmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliament commissioner for human rights, called for the world to condemn the shelled center.
“This is another war crime of the Russian army in accordance with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and a gross violation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions,” she said.
3:00 p.m.- US military sees Russian troops heading north or into Belarus
The Pentagon said Wednesday that over the last 24 hours it has seen some Russian troops in the areas around Kyiv moving north toward or into Belarus.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the U.S. 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 said.
But he noted that Russia has talked about prioritizing the Donbas region. Kirby was speaking on CNN and Fox Business.
Kirby also said 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.”
1:30 p.m. - U.S. intel suggests Putin advisers misled him, ‘afraid to tell him the truth’
U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about Russian forces’ performance in Ukraine, according to a U.S. official.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity Wednesday to discuss the recently declassified intelligence finding, said that Putin has felt misled by the Russian military and there is now persistent tension between him and senior Russian defense officials.
The official did not detail underlying evidence for how U.S. intelligence made the determination.
But the intel community has concluded that Putin was unaware that the military had been using and losing conscripts in Ukraine. They also have determined Putin is not fully aware of the extent to which the Russian economy is being damaged by economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and allies.
The findings demonstrate a “clear breakdown in the flow of accurate information” to Putin, and show that Putin’s senior advisers are “afraid to tell him the truth,” the official said.
12:03 p.m. - Biden and Zelenskyy have 55-minute phone call to discuss U.S. support of Ukraine
President Joe Biden and Ukrainian president Zelenskyy spoke Wednesday morning for nearly an hour, the White House said.
"The leaders discussed how the United States is working around the clock to fulfill the main security assistance requests by Ukraine, the critical effects those weapons have had on the conflict, and continued efforts by the United States with allies and partners to identify additional capabilities to help the Ukrainian military defend its country," the White House said in a statement.
Biden also told Zelenskyy that the U.S. intends to provide the Ukrainian government with $500 million in direct budgetary aid.
10 a.m. - Ukraine says peace deal vote requires Russian pullback
An adviser to Ukraine’s president says that a vote sealing a prospective agreement with Russia could only be held after Russian troops pull back.
Mykhailo Podolyak said Wednesday that the Russian forces must withdraw to their positions before the Feb. 24 invasion to pave the way for any peace deal to be put on a nationwide referendum.
In an online briefing, he voiced hope for a meeting soon between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin but wouldn’t say when exactly it could happen.
Podolyak took part in Tuesday’s talks with Russian negotiators in Istanbul. He said a deal on multilateral security guarantees for Ukraine will be a key part of the package to be discussed.
9:30 a.m. - Zelenskyy addresses Norwegian parliament
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Norwegian parliament that Russia wants “to destroy the foundation of Europe.”
Zelenskyy, speaking through an interpreter during a live video appearance before the 169-member Stortinget, said Wednesday that “the future of Europe is being decided now.”
Speaking generally of Russia’s military activities in Ukraine, Zelenskyy said that “for the Russians, there are no prohibited targets.”
Zelenskyy’s speech was the latest of a string of addresses to lawmakers in several countries, including the United States, Britain, Sweden, Germany, Canada, Israel, Japan and the European Union.
9 a.m. - Russian forces intensify attacks in east: Ukrainian military
The Ukrainian military said that Russian troops have intensified their activities in the country’s east.
The Ukrainian general staff said Wednesday that the Russians have scaled up their activities around Izyum, south of Kharkiv, after redeploying some units from other areas.
It also said that the Russian forces have intensified shelling and attacks in the eastern Donetsk region, focusing on trying to win control of Mariupol, Popasna and Rubizhne.
The Russian military has said it has shifted its focus to Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, the Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have fought Ukrainian forces since 2014.
An adviser to Ukraine’s president, also said that the Russian military had redeployed some of its forces to the east of the country.
Oleksiy Arestovych said in televised remarks Wednesday that Russia has moved some of its troops from areas near Kyiv to the east in an effort to encircle the Ukrainian forces there.
He said Russia has left some of its forces near Kyiv to tie up Ukrainian troops there and prevent them moving to other areas. Arestovych said Russia hasn’t yet pulled back any of its troops from Chernihiv.
8:30 a.m. - Russian military continues shelling Kyiv area despite pullback claims
A senior Ukrainian official said that the Russian military has continued shelling areas around the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
Oleksandr Pavliuk, the head of the Kyiv region military administration, said Wednesday that there were 30 Russian shellings of the residential areas and civilian infrastructure in the Bucha, Brovary and Vyshhorod regions around the capital over the previous 24 hours.
The barrage came despite a Russian pledge to reduce military activities around Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv after Tuesday’s talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul.
Olexander Lomako, the secretary of Chernihiv city council, said in a voice message to The Associated Press that military action increased in intensity overnight and “the city was bombed, shelled by artillery and heavy weapons,” with a library and a shopping mall among places that were hit.
8 a.m. - Kremlin says no ‘breakthroughs’ in latest round of peace talks
The Kremlin said there was no breakthrough in the latest round of talks with Ukraine in Istanbul.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday it was a “positive factor” that Ukraine submitted its written proposals, but he added that “we can’t say there has been something promising or any breakthroughs.”
He emphasized in a call with reporters that there is still a lot of work ahead following Tuesday’s talks.
On Tuesday, Ukraine set out a detailed framework for a peace deal under which the country would remain neutral but its security would be guaranteed by a group of third countries, including the U.S., Britain, France, Turkey, China and Poland. It said it would also be willing to hold talks over a 15-year period on the future of the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
Peskov said Russia’s chief delegate in the talks, Vladimir Medinsky, has reported their results to President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin spokesman didn’t discuss details of the negotiations. Asked about the Ukrainian offer of talks over the status of Crimea, he said there is nothing to discuss because Crimea is part of Russia under the country’s constitution.
7:30 a.m. - Russian military hits Ukrainian arsenals, fuel depots
The Russian military has reported a new series of strikes on Ukrainian arsenals and fuel depots.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Wednesday that the military used air-launched long-range cruise missiles to target fuel depots in Starokostiantyniv and Khmelnytskyi in central Ukraine.
Konashenkov said in a statement that the Russian forces also hit the Ukrainian special forces headquarters in Bereznehuvate in the southern Mykolaiv region.
Konashenkov also said that the Russian military used mobile land-based Iskander missile launchers to hit two ammunition depots in the eastern Donetsk region. The Russian military said that it has shifted focus to Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland of Donbas, where Moscow-backed rebels have been battling Ukrainian forces since 2014.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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