The Kremlin has downplayed talk of a breakthrough in negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian officials, as a major military assault continues in the east.
Russian Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that he had not seen "anything really promising" from Tuesday's talks in Istanbul, where Moscow had earlier announced it would wind down military activities near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
"What is positive is that the Ukrainian side has at least started to specifically formulating and putting on paper what it is proposing. Until now we had not managed to achieve that," Peskov said, according to the BBC.
"As regards the rest, we cannot, put it this way, at present state there have been any breakthroughs, anything very promising."
It comes as President Vladimir Putin reportedly said that the shelling of Mariupol would only end when the besieged city surrenders.
Earlier Wednesday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian pledges of de-escalation should be treated with caution.
The president said talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Istanbul on Tuesday were "positive" but Moscow's promises will be judged on their results.
It comes after Russia's deputy defence minister announced on Tuesday that military activity around Chernihiv and Kyiv would be "dramatically reduced", despite gunfire being heard around the capital that evening.
"These signals do not silence the explosion of Russian shells," Zelensky said. "Ukrainians are not naive people."
The New Arab is providing live updates of the latest on the ground and additional analysis on the conflict's significance.
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