Russia accused of more attacks in Ukraine despite promises

The Ukrainian cities of Chernihiv and Kyiv endured more attacks on Wednesday despite Russia’s promises during peace talks to “drastically reduce” combat operations in both areas.

Shelling hit homes, shops, libraries and other “civilian infrastructure” in Chernihiv and outside of Kyiv, according to The Associated Press, which cited Ukrainian officials.

The Kyiv Regional State Administration specifically said Russia had attacked more than 30 residential buildings and infrastructure in the Kyiv region in the past 24 hours, NBC reported.

“The night passed relatively calmly, to the sounds of sirens and the sound of gunfire from battles around the city, but there was no shelling in the city itself,” Kyiv Deputy Mayor Mykola Povoroznyk said on Ukrainian state-news, Reuters reported. 

The governor of Chernihiv, Viacheslav Chaus, also said on Wednesday that his city suffered attacks “all night.”

Chaus added that “there wasn’t even a single time when [Russian] military forces kept their word” in an interview with the BBC.

On Tuesday, Russian forces appeared to possibly be preparing to take up defensive positions near the Snov River, east of the Chernihiv region, according to The New York Times, which cited the Institute for the Study of War. 

The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Moscow had also destroyed bridges in several towns along the river, the Times added.

The continued attacks have come at a steep price for civilians, thousands of whom have evacuated the area amid the violence as well as shortages of food, water and electricity, the Times noted.

After peace talks in Turkey, Russia had promised to reduce some of its military operations in the two cities. But those talks did not see any breakthroughs, and President Biden voiced skepticism on Tuesday about Moscow’s promises.

“We’ll see,” Biden said at the time. “I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are.”