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Volodymyr Zelenskyy's adviser Mykhailo Podolyak speaks to the press after the peace talks in Istanbul
Photo: YASIN AKGUL / AFP
Russia has announced that it will significantly reduce its "military activities" near Kyiv and Chernihiv.
Ukraine confirmed the first withdrawals of Russian soldiers.
The delegation from Kyiv in Istanbul had previously offered the Russian representatives neutrality in return for security guarantees, among other things.
The Russian chief negotiator announced that he would examine the proposals.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has expressed skepticism about the Russian announcements.
Amnesty International accuses the Kremlin of war crimes, the UN demands safe routes for rescue workers and Moscow accuses enemy soldiers of torture.
Peace negotiations in Istanbul
According to Moscow's Defense Ministry, Russia wants to significantly reduce its "military activities" in Ukraine near Kyiv and Chernihiv.
This decision was made in view of the course of negotiations with Kyiv, said Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin in Istanbul.
The step should “increase trust” in the talks.
The Ukrainian general staff announced that the withdrawal of individual units of the Russian armed forces was being observed in the area around the capital Kyiv and the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv.
Earlier, Ukraine had offered neutrality in negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Turkey in exchange for security guarantees.
This would mean that Ukraine would not join any military alliance, the negotiators told reporters after the talks in Istanbul.
In addition, there will be no military bases in the country.
Before a final agreement comes into force, however, peace must prevail throughout Ukraine and a referendum must be held on the terms of an agreement with Russia, the Ukrainian delegation said.
Turkey, Israel, Poland and Canada, among others, could act as guarantors for compliance with security.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed skepticism about the Russian announcements.
There is what Russia says and what Russia does, he says.
The US focused on the latter.
In the statement by the Russian deputy defense minister, no reorientation of Russia can be seen.
Despite the Istanbul announcement, Russia wants to continue its "special military operation," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, according to the Interfax agency.
military situation
In the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, the Russian army apparently attacked the building of the regional administration with a rocket.
According to civil defense, three people were killed and at least 22 others injured.
In a video message to the Danish parliament, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy even spoke of at least seven dead.
Further rocket attacks were reported on objects near Nikopol and Pavlohrad in the Dnepropetrovsk region.
Most recently, the Ukrainian army reported successful counterattacks.
No independent information was available.
humanitarian situation
According to the Ukrainian government, three evacuation corridors for the evacuation of civilians have been negotiated with Russian troops for Tuesday.
From the besieged port of Mariupol in the Donetsk region, it should be possible to drive private cars to Zaporizhia via Berdyansk, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
In addition, 34 buses are traveling from Zaporizhia to Berdyansk on the Azov Sea.
These are intended to take people from Mariupol who have reached Berdyansk, almost 70 kilometers away, on their own.
Two more corridors were agreed in the Zaporizhia region for the nuclear power plant city of Enerhodar and the city of Melitopol.
Civil defense buses are on the move.
Amnesty International has denounced war crimes in Ukraine.
"What is happening in Ukraine is a repeat of what we saw in Syria," Secretary General Agnès Callamard told AFP at the presentation of the organization's annual report.
Russia is "specifically" attacking civilian facilities and turning escape routes into "death traps."
Eastern Europe Director Marie Struthers said Amnesty researchers had documented "the same tactics used in Syria and Chechnya" during an on-site visit to Ukraine.
Accordingly, Russia is also using weapons that are prohibited under international law.
Callamard compared the besieged city of Mariupol to the Syrian city of Aleppo.
This was completely destroyed by the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with the help of the Russian air force.
Amnesty observed a "multiplication of war crimes" in Ukraine.
Moscow says so
The Kremlin plans to maintain dialogue with the US despite recent disagreements over statements by US President Joe Biden.
According to the Interfax agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Biden's "personal insults" to Russian President Vladimir Putin had a "negative impact" on relations between the two countries.
Nevertheless, the dialogue is "not only in the interests of both countries, but in the interests of the whole world." Sooner or later, Russia and the USA will have to talk about issues of strategic stability and security.
Biden had called Putin a "dictator" over the weekend and concluded with the words: "For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power." The White House immediately emphasized that this was not a call to overthrow Putin.
Biden told journalists in the White House on Monday that he was not taking anything back, but did not want his words to be understood as a call for a change of power in Moscow.
The Kremlin has accused Ukrainian soldiers of severely abusing prisoners of war and has arrested two suspects, according to a lawmaker.
A video surfaced on social media on Sunday showing men in Ukrainian uniforms shooting alleged Russian prisoners of war in the legs.
Different reactions came from Ukraine.
The commander of the Ukrainian armed forces spoke of a Russian fake on Facebook.
At the same time, the presidential adviser Olexei Arestovych announced "serious investigations" and did not rule out "excesses" by Ukrainian soldiers.
After the EU largely refused to pay for gas supplies in rubles, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has announced possible new steps by Russia.
"No pay - no gas," said Peskov in an interview with the American television chain PBS, according to the state agency TASS.
Moscow wants to wait for the EU's response and then determine the next steps.
"But we certainly don't intend to present ourselves as benefactors and deliver free gas to Western Europe."
The international community
The United Nations is calling for safe routes for rescue workers to support the people of Ukraine.
A spokesman for the Coordination Office for Humanitarian Aid OCHA says that the UN aid organizations are currently helping up to 900,000 people.
"That's good, but it's far from enough." The warring parties must guarantee safe passage for aid workers and convoys.
The Red Cross estimates that up to 18 million people in Ukraine will need humanitarian assistance.
Poland wants to stop importing coal from Russia.
The cabinet has passed appropriate legislation, said a government spokesman in Warsaw.
“We are aware that this may raise legal questions.
Unfortunately, the doubts are justified, but we can no longer wait for the EU to react on this matter«.
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svs/dpa/Reuters/AFP