Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Russia is building up forces in eastern Ukraine for a new wave of attacks in the Donbas region. He also added that another attempt is being made to rescue civilians trapped in the Mariupol region.
In a video address, he said Russia’s drawdown announcement had been forced upon the Kremlin by the fierce resistance of Ukraine’s armed forces, a Guardian report read.
Zelenskyy said his government was seeing “a build-up of Russian forces for new strikes on the Donbas” and preparing for that.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey is ready, in principle, to act as a guarantor country for Ukraine, a Reuters report reads. NATO member Turkey, which shares a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea said that it is very important that Moscow decided to scale back its operations near Kyiv and Chernihiv. Offering to mediate the conflict, Erdogan has said that he would talk to both Putin and Zelenskyy and offer Turkey as a host for the talks.
Late Thursday night, Britain's defence ministry said Russia continues to pound Chernihiv in northern Ukraine, despite Moscow's claim to have scaled back its offensive around that city and Kyiv.
It said on Thursday that Russian forces continue to hold positions to the east and west of Kyiv despite the withdrawal of a limited number of units.
The UK intelligence update also said heavy fighting continues in the southern port of Mariupol, which has been besieged by Russia for weeks, but that Ukrainian forces remain in control of the centre of the city.
-- With PTI inputs
