Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday peace talks were beginning to “sound more realistic” — as the Ukrainian president, along with U.S. and U.K. officials, reported Putin’s offensive was stalling even as attacks on Kyiv and Mariupol were intensifying.
What they’re saying: “Efforts are still needed, patience is needed,” Zelensky said during a televised address as the invasion entered a third week.
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“Any war ends with an agreement,” added Zelensky, who thanked President Biden “and all the friends of Ukraine” in the U.S. for a $13.6 billion aid package ahead of his congressional address Wednesday.
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Ukrainian presidential aid Mykhailo Podolyak, a member of the peace talks delegation, tweeted that “fundamental contradictions” remained as peace talks with Russian officials were expected to continue Wednesday. “But there is certainly room for compromise,” he added.
The big picture: Russian airstrikes on Kyiv Wednesday morning destroyed several residential buildings and killed at least two people, Ukraine’s state emergency services said. Kyiv entered a 35-hour curfew on Tuesday night, hours after at least four people were killed in a Russian airstrike on a city apartment.
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Fresh attacks were also reported in Mariupol, where local officials said Russian forces had seized a hospital and took some 500 people hostage.
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But Zelensky said during his address that despite Russia’s military bombardment, its forces had failed to break through.
Situation report: U.S. and British officials also reported that Russian forces had in general stalled across Ukraine.
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A U.S. Defense official told AP that Russian forces were about nine miles outside Kyiv and their long-range missiles were striking civilian targets in Kyiv “with increasing frequency.” But President Vladimir Putin’s ground forces were “making little to no progress around the country.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update Wednesday that Russia’s military has been “struggling to overcome the challenges posed by Ukraine’s terrain.”
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“Russian forces have remained largely tied to Ukraine’s road network and have demonstrated a reluctance to conduct off-road manoeuvre. The destruction of bridges by Ukrainian forces has also played a key role in stalling Russia’s advance,” the defense ministry added.
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“Russia’s continued failure to gain control of the air has drastically limited their ability to effectively use air manoeuvre, further limiting their options,” while Ukrainian military tactics have “exploited Russia’s lack of manoeuvre, frustrating the Russian advance and inflicting heavy losses on the invading forces,” according to the statement.
What to watch: The U.K. Defense Ministry said in a Tuesday intelligence update that “Russia is increasingly seeking to generate additional troops to bolster and replace its personnel losses in Ukraine.”
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The Kremlin “is redeploying forces from as far afield as its Eastern Military District, Pacific Fleet and Armenia. It is also increasingly seeking to exploit irregular sources such as Private Military Companies, Syrian and other mercenaries,” the update added.
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“Russia will likely attempt to use these forces to hold captured territory and free up its combat power to renew stalled offensive operations.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with details of Wednesday’s fatal airstrike in Kyiv and more comment from the U.K. defense ministry.
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