FOG BLOG RUSSIA'S WAR ON UKRAINE LOG: STILL BOMBING IN CHERNIHIV AND KYIV DESPITE TALK OF MOVING OUT

Russia continues to pound Kyiv, other Ukrainian cities despite pledge to scale back......pictured here is a city market in Chernihiv......4 million refugees have now fled since invasion, United Nations agency says......The city market in Chernihiv, Ukraine, as seen Wednesday, following a night during which local officials say Russian forces continued to pound major cities, hours after Moscow pledged to scale back military operations in those places. .....Russian forces bombarded areas around Kyiv and another city just hours after pledging to scale back military operations in those places to help move peace negotiations along, Ukrainian authorities said Wednesday.

The shelling — and intensified Russian attacks on other parts of the country — tempered optimism about any progress in the talks aimed at ending the punishing war.

The Russian military's announcement on Tuesday that it would de-escalate near Kyiv, the capital, and Chernihiv to "increase mutual trust" was met with deep suspicion from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the West.

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Soon after, Ukrainian officials reported that Russian shelling hit homes, stores, libraries and other civilian sites in and around Chernihiv and on the outskirts of Kyiv.

Russian troops also stepped up their attacks around the eastern city of Izyum and in the eastern Donetsk region after redeploying some units from other areas, the Ukrainian side said.

Olexander Lomako, secretary of the Chernihiv city council, said the Russian announcement turned out to be "a complete lie."

"At night, they didn't decrease but vice versa increased the intensity of military action," Lomako said..