Day 35 Roundup: Ukraine Skeptical of Russian Scale Back Promises Following Talks in Turkey
The Facts
Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskyy said there were signs for optimism after a round of negotiations in Istanbul this week, but that Ukrainians weren't "naive" and remained skeptical of Russian promises to scale back military activity. Talks are scheduled to resume online on Friday.
Russian forces continued to hold their forward positions around Kyiv and Chernihiv on Wed., with reports of continued shelling in the two cities just a day after Moscow pledged to scale back operations. Less than 20% of troops on the outskirts of Kyiv have begun to be repositioned, according to the Pentagon.
The Spin
Anti-Russia narrative
This invasion is an egregious violation of international law. Putin's ultimate aim is to restore the Soviet empire, even if it takes massive bloodshed and false pretexts such as calling the 2014 Ukrainian revolution after a fraudulent election a "coup". This unprovoked attack is the latest chapter in Putin's Orwellian attempt to re-write history.
Pro-Russia narrative
NATO and the US have ignored Russia's security concerns by breaking its promise not to expand eastward in return for German reunification. These concerns are legitimate and taking them seriously would have avoided the Ukraine tragedy.