LVIV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned his compatriots Thursday of a buildup of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine and of more bloodshed to come as he and Western officials continued to cast doubt on Moscow’s pronouncements of a partial military pullback around the capital of Kyiv.
Speaking in an overnight video address, Zelenskyy said there was an “accumulation” of Russian troops in Donbas, a region in eastern Ukraine claimed by pro-Russian secessionists, and cautioned his people not to read too deeply into recent peace talks.
The president criticized Russia’s “verbal constructions” this week that it would initiate a drawdown of forces in the north, near Kyiv and Chernihiv, where local officials have described shelling this week to have taken place “all night.”
Russian troops are not conducting a withdrawal but facing the “the consequences of exile” at the hands of Ukrainian fighters, Zelenskyy said. “Yes, there is an ongoing negotiation process. But these are still words.”
In the east, Ukrainian military leaders said they were preparing for an all-out assault by Russian forces.
“We clearly feel that the transfer of (military) technology in our direction is beginning now,” Serhiy Haidai, the head of the regional military administration in Luhansk, said on Ukrainian television. “And as the equipment and personnel are being turned over, our enemies are simply firing more densely, powerfully.
“Everything is already involved here: aircraft, artillery, heavy-caliber weapons, mortars — all settlements are being shelled.”
The British Ministry of Defense on Thursday predicted “heavy fighting” in and outside the capital, saying that “Russian forces continue to hold positions to the east and west of Kyiv despite the withdrawal of a limited number of units.”
“Despite Russian statements indicating an intended reduction of military activity around Chernihiv, significant Russian shelling and missile strikes have continued,” the ministry said.
In the battered city of Mariupol, where government officials have described scenes of desperation as residents struggle to leave for safe zones and wait hours in line for food and water, Russia and Ukraine agreed to a temporary cease-fire to evacuate civilians, both sides said Thursday.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its troops, which have set up checkpoints on a main artery, would allow Ukrainians to transit inland to Zaporizhzhia via the Russian-controlled port city of Berdyansk. Russia said it would cooperate with the United Nations and Red Cross to allow for the evacuations.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 45 buses were ready to transport families. “We will do everything possible to ensure that buses arrive in Mariupol today and pick up people who have not yet been able to get out of the city,” Vereschuk said in a Facebook video.
It was unclear how long the evacuation route from Mariupol, where the mayor has said the death toll tops 5,000 and satellite images show entire neighborhoods razed, would stay open. About three-quarters of the city’s prewar population of 430,000 have already fled.
Ukraine has accused Russia of routinely blocking aid routes into the city, where Russian troops are spread out, although Ukraine still controls the city center. Local officials also said this week that Russians had shelled a Red Cross building that bore a red cross against a white background on the roof.
If overtaken, Mariupol could form a key part of a strategic passageway for Russia to Crimea. Russia seized the peninsula in 2014 but has no land routes connecting to it.
In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-most populous, regional Gov. Oleh Synyehubov said there was shelling overnight.
“Over the past day, Russian troops have struck 47 times with artillery, mortar, tank, and strikes” around the city, Synyehubov said on the Telegram messaging app.
In the southeastern city of Dnipro, a major humanitarian hub, local government officials said that a strike destroyed an oil terminal. They reported no injuries or deaths.
After the talks with Russians on Tuesday in Istanbul, Zelenskyy said he was open to negotiating the status of Crimea as part of a peace process to end Russian aggression. The president said he was also ready to talk about Donbas, and indicated a willingness to give up Ukraine’s aspirations to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Zelenskyy said a national vote would be required on NATO and territorial changes.
In exchange, Russia said it would “drastically” reduce its troops around Kyiv and Chernihiv, a hard-hit northern city, but missiles have continued to rain down.
That has led Ukrainian and Western officials to doubt Russian intentions.
The White House on Wednesday described Russian President Vladimir Putin’s drawn-out war, which has led to a historic humanitarian crisis with more than 4 million Ukrainian refugees, as a “strategic blunder.” White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said U.S. intelligence officials have information that Putin has been “misled by the Russian military” about setbacks.
Speaking on Thursday in Canberra, the Australian capital, a top British intelligence official echoed the analysis.
Putin has “massively misjudged” the invasion, said Jeremy Fleming, who leads Britain’s electronic surveillance agency.
Putin “overestimated the abilities of his military to secure a rapid victory,” Fleming said, adding that “we’ve seen Russian soldiers, short of weapons and morale, refusing to carry out orders, sabotaging their own equipment and even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft.”
Russian and Ukrainian representatives are set to meet again Friday via video conference. It will be the sixth round of negotiations since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
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(McDonnell reported from Lviv and Kaleem from London.)
