Moscow says it will 'drastically reduce' operations around the capital, Kyiv, as well as Chernihiv.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed in Chernihiv which has been encircled by Russian forces
But it is unclear how extensive any reduction in military activity might be, and Ukraine remains sceptical.It has suffered a series of setbacks to the north-west of the capital, Kyiv, and is also seeking to capture a land corridor which stretches along the south coast to the Russian border. Officials in Washington said they had already seen the Russians draw away from Kyiv, but they were still pounding the capital with air strikes . The US said it had little confidence that the announcement marked any significant shift or meaningful retreat.
Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin, who was in Istanbul, told Russian TV that as "Ukraine's neutrality and non-nuclear status and security guarantees" had progressed, the defence ministry had taken the decision to cut its operations dramatically in the two areas to "create the necessary conditions for further negotiations and for the signing of the aforementioned agreement".
The negotiators said they had proposed to Russia that Ukraine adopt a neutral status in exchange for security guarantees - an international mechanism where guarantor countries would act to protect Ukraine in future.
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