Mar 30,2022: Russia says it will “fundamentally cut back” offensive operations near Kyiv and Chernihiv in order to boost “trust” in talks with Ukraine.
But Ukraine’s military says the Russian pledge is likely aimed at misleading its forces, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Kyiv will not reduce its “defensive efforts”.
US President Joe Biden also urges caution, saying West needs to see if the Russians will follow through on de-escalation promise.
Russia’s envoy to the UN accuses the West of fuelling the conflict by sending weapons to Ukraine.
UN says Ukraine is going from being the “breadbasket of the world” to being on the “breadline”.
UN records 1,179 civilian deaths in Ukraine
The UN human rights office says it has verified 1,179 civilian deaths in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began. A further 1,860 civilians were wounded, it said.
“Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes,” it said in a statement.
