Russia Repositions Troops Away From Kyiv; Pentagon Refuses To Buy Idea of Withdrawal

According to Pentagon press secretary John Kirby, the Russian military has begun to redeploy some of its forces in Ukraine away from Kyiv to locations elsewhere in the country, marking the first hint of a strategic change in Russia's month-long invasion Ukraine.

Russian army convoys "had been stalled in the north" surrounding the city, he added, while initial Russian progress in the south has also "stalled out." Kirby stressed, however, that the troop moves do not equate to a retreat, as some observers had anticipated.

Russian Defense Ministry Decides To Reduce Military Activity in Kyiv

Kirby said a few hours after a member of the Russian negotiation team in Istanbul said the Ministry of Defense had agreed to radically, at times, reduce military activity in the Kyiv and Chernikyiv direction.

The reduced military activity was announced to increase mutual trust and create the necessary conditions for further negotiations, according to a Kremlin official. Markets rose early Tuesday on the news of the reduced military activity, hoping that Russia's announcement meant the brutal and costly invasion would soon be over.

Officials rapidly disregarded the concept that Putin and the Kremlin were behaving in good faith on both sides of the Atlantic. Biden made the comments during a phone discussion with the presidents of Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France on Tuesday morning to discuss Ukraine.

Following the call, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he didn't believe Russia's claim that it would reduce strikes in the Kyiv region, CNBC reported. Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry probably responded to these defeats on Tuesday that activities near Kyiv and Chernihiv would be substantially reduced.

The force reductions were announced as Kyiv and Moscow resumed peace negotiations in Istanbul, where Vladimir Medinsky, Putin's adviser and the Russian delegation's leader, hailed the troop reductions as two measures toward de-escalation of the conflict.

But the declaration was met with skepticism by Western officials, with many pointing out that Moscow appeared to be pledging de-escalation mainly in places where they were already losing territory. According to Reuters, a US source described Russian force moves surrounding Kyiv as a redeployment, not a withdrawal, and warned that other parts of Ukraine could expect to be shelled as well.

Even as Russian officials trumpeted their ostensible military retreat on Tuesday, the administrative building of Mykolaiv was hit by Russian missile fire, killing at least nine people and injuring 28 others, according to local authorities. Russian military assaulted an airstrip in Starokonstantinov in the Khmelnytskyi district. Hours later, however, no injuries were reported, according to The Daily Beast.

Russia Lost 7th Commander in War Against Ukraine

Another big setback to Putin's army has been the loss of a seventh colonel since the start of the combat. Colonel Denis Kurilo, commander of Ukraine's 200th independent motorized rifle brigade, was eliminated in severe battle near Kharkiv, the country's second largest city.

A photo of the commander with a red cross across it was released by the Ukrainian news agency unian.net, indicating his death. He is the latest in a long line of high-ranking Russian officials slain in Ukraine since the invasion began on February 24.

According to the Ukrainian army's press office, the 200th brigade sustained significant losses during a so-called "special military operation" in Ukraine's east.

The 200th's two battalion tactical groups were annihilated, with a total loss of around 1,500 soldiers. On day 34 of the battle, Kurilo was declared dead after at least seven of Putin's generals were killed in the nation, as per The Sun.