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Russian forces have continued a ruthless bombardment of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, despite official statements claiming that Russian troops are withdrawing from Kyiv and Chernihiv to refocus on the eastern Donbass region, Kyiv residents tell Fox News .
“According to what you said yesterday, nothing has changed at all,” Maryan Zablotskyy, a member of Ukraine’s parliament who got his wife and child out of Kyiv, told Fox News Digital. “Struggle [continued] all night around Kyiv.”
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“They are forced to withdraw from various areas around Kyiv,” Zablotskyy noted, “but only if successfully pushed back.”
Food warehouse destroyed as a result of shelling by Russian troops on March 29, 2022, Brovary, Kyiv region, north-central Ukraine. (Photo by Hennadii MInchenko/Ukrinform/ABACAPRESS.COM)
“Yesterday’s statement is just an acknowledgment of some military setbacks and they finally realized their forces are stretched too thin,” he added. “Some of their units were about to be surrounded at Irpin.”
Ukrainian troops recaptured Irpin, a town near Kyiv, on Monday.
Rescue workers clear the aftermath of Russian shelling of a food warehouse in Brovary, Kyiv region, north-central Ukraine, on March 29, 2022. (Photo by Hennadii MInchenko/Ukrinform/ABACAPRESS.COM)
Russia announced on Tuesday that it would reduce its military presence in Kyiv and Chernihiv. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reportedly said that the “liberation of Donbass” in eastern Ukraine – where Russian-backed separatists have taken power – is Moscow’s main goal.
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“Nothing is changing,” Mark Savchuk, coordinator of the Ukraine Volunteer Journalists Initiative (UVJI) in Kyiv, told Fox News Digital. “The fact that people around the world still listen to Russians is super depressing.”
These images and videos show Ukrainian firefighters evacuating after a Russian missile attack on Sunday (May 27).
“Everything is a shift in priorities – they are moving troops south,” Savchuk pointed out. “Fighting near Kyiv will remain as it is now. Nothing will change. All that has changed is that their top priority is no longer Kyiv, but the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the south.”
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Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday the US had observed “increased activity” and “offensive activity” by Russian forces in the Donbass region of Ukraine.
The General Staff of Ukraine reported that Russia transfer About 2,000 soldiers from Georgia are said to be fighting in Ukraine.
Map showing Ukraine, Russia, Crimea, Donbass region held by pro-Russian forces and neighboring countries. Ian Jopson, Fox Digital (Fox News)