KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� Russia announced Tuesday it will significantly scale back military operations near Ukraine鈥檚 capital and a northern city, as the outlines of a possible deal to end the grinding war came into view at the latest round of talks.
Ukraine's delegation at the conference, held in Istanbul, laid out a framework under which the country would declare itself neutral and its security would be guaranteed by an array of other nations.
Moscow's public reaction was positive, and the negotiations are expected to resume Wednesday, five weeks into what has devolved into a bloody war of attrition, with thousands dead and almost 4 million Ukrainians fleeing the country.
Amid the talks, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said Moscow has decided to 鈥渇undamentally ... cut back military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv鈥� to 鈥渋ncrease mutual trust and create conditions for further negotiations.鈥�
He did not immediately spell out what that would mean in practical terms.
The announcement was met with skepticism from the U.S. and others.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia cannot be trusted. Although the signals from the talks are "positive,鈥� they 鈥漜an鈥檛 silence explosions of Russian shells,鈥� he said in a video address.
Zelenskyy said it was Ukrainian troops who forced Russia's hand, adding that 鈥渨e shouldn鈥檛 let down our guard鈥� because the invading army still "has a great potential to continue attacks against our country.鈥�
Ukraine will continue negotiations, he said, but officials do not trust the word of the country that continues "fighting to destroy us.鈥�
While Moscow portrayed it as a goodwill gesture, its ground troops have become bogged down and taken heavy losses in their bid to seize Kyiv and other cities. Last week and again on Tuesday, the Kremlin seemed to lower its war aims, saying its 鈥渕ain goal鈥� now is gaining control of the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden, asked whether the Russian announcement was a sign of progress in the talks or an attempt by Moscow to buy time to continue its assault, said: 鈥淲e鈥檒l see. I don鈥檛 read anything into it until I see what their actions are.鈥�
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested Russian indications of a pullback could be an attempt by Moscow to 鈥渄eceive people and deflect attention.鈥�
It wouldn't be the first time. In the tense buildup to the invasion, the Russian military announced that some units were loading equipment onto rail cars and preparing to return to their home bases after completing exercises. At the time, Putin was signaling interest in diplomacy. But 10 days later, Russia launched its invasion.
Western officials say Moscow is now reinforcing troops in the Donbas in a bid to encircle Ukraine鈥檚 forces. And Russia's deadly siege in the south continues, with civilians trapped in the ruins of Mariupol and other bombarded cities. The latest satellite imagery from commercial provider Maxar Technologies showed hundreds of people waiting outside a grocery store amid reports of food and water shortages.
鈥淭here is what Russia says and there is what Russia does, and we鈥檙e focused on the latter,鈥� Blinken said in Morocco. 鈥淎nd what Russia is doing is the continued brutalization of Ukraine.鈥�
Even as negotiators gathered, Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces blasted a gaping hole in a nine-story government administration building in a strike on the southern port city of Mykolaiv, killing at least 12 people, emergency authorities said. The search for more bodies in the rubble continued.
鈥淚t鈥檚 terrible. They waited for people to go to work鈥� before striking the building, said regional governor Vitaliy Kim. 鈥淚 overslept. I鈥檓 lucky.鈥�
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. has detected small numbers of Russian ground forces moving away from the Kyiv area, but it appeared to be a repositioning of forces, 鈥渘ot a real withdrawal.鈥�
He said it was too soon to say how extensive the Russian movements may be or where the troops will be repositioned.
鈥淚t does not mean the threat to Kyiv is over,鈥� Kirby said. 鈥淭hey can still inflict massive brutality on the country, including on Kyiv.鈥� He said Russian airstrikes against Kyiv continued.
Rob Lee, a military expert at the U.S.-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, tweeted of the Russian announcement: 鈥淭his sounds like more of an acknowledgment of the situation around Kyiv where Russia鈥檚 advance has been stalled for weeks and Ukrainian forces have had recent successes. Russia doesn鈥檛 have the forces to encircle the city.鈥�
The meeting in Istanbul was the first time negotiators from Russia and Ukraine talked face-to-face in two weeks. Earlier talks were held in person in Belarus or by video.
Among other things, the Kremlin has demanded all along that Ukraine drop any hope of joining NATO.
Ukraine鈥檚 delegation offered a detailed framework for a peace deal under which a neutral Ukraine's security would be guaranteed by a group of third countries, including the U.S., Britain, France, Turkey, China and Poland, in an arrangement similar to NATO鈥檚 "an attack on one is an attack on all鈥� principle.
Ukraine said it would also be willing to hold talks over a 15-year period on the future of the Crimean Peninsula, seized by Russia in 2014.
Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, said on Russian TV that the Ukrainian proposals are a 鈥渟tep to meet us halfway, a clearly positive fact.鈥�
He cautioned that the parties are still far from reaching an agreement, but said: 鈥淲e know now how to move further toward compromise. We aren鈥檛 just marking time in talks.鈥�
In other developments:
鈥� In what appeared to be a coordinated action to tackle Russian espionage, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland and North Macedonia expelled scores of Russian diplomats.
鈥� The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency to try to ensure the safety of the country鈥檚 nuclear facilities. Russian forces have taken control of the decommissioned Chernobyl plant, site in 1986 of the world鈥檚 worst nuclear accident, and of the active Zaporizhzhia plant, where a building was damaged in fighting.
鈥� Russia has destroyed more than 60 religious buildings across the country in just over a month of war, with most of the damage concentrated near Kyiv and in the east, Ukraine鈥檚 military said.
鈥� In the room at the Istanbul talks was , a longtime Putin ally who has been sanctioned by Britain and the European Union. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Chelsea soccer team owner has been serving as an unofficial mediator approved by both countries. But the mystery surrounding his role has been deepened by news reports that he may have been poisoned during an earlier round of talks.
Over the past several days, Ukrainian forces have mounted counterattacks and reclaimed ground on the outskirts of Kyiv and other areas.
Ukrainian soldiers gathered in a trench for photos with Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, who said that Ukraine had retaken control of a vast majority of Irpin, a key suburb northwest of the capital that has seen heavy fighting.
鈥淲e defend our motherland because we have very high morale,鈥� said Syrskyi, the commander in charge of the defense of Kyiv. 鈥淎nd because we want to win.鈥�
Ukrainian forces also took back Trostyanets, south of Sumy in the northeast, after weeks of occupation that left a landscape of Russian bodies, burned and twisted tanks and charred buildings.
Putin鈥檚 ground forces have been thwarted not just by stronger-than-expected Ukrainian resistance, but by what Western officials say are Russian tactical missteps, poor morale, shortages of food, fuel and cold weather gear, and other problems.
Repeating what the military said last week, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday that 鈥渓iberating Donbas鈥� is now Moscow鈥檚 chief objective.
While that presents a possible face-saving exit strategy for Putin, it has also raised Ukrainian fears the Kremlin aims to split the country and force it to surrender a swath of its territory.
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Karmanau reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
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Nebi Qena And Yuras Karmanau, The Associated Press