According to a pair of senior U.S. officials who provided information to CNN’s chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto, Russia is “beginning to withdraw some forces from around the Ukrainian capital Kyiv,” as the reporter explained it. Fighting across Ukraine is continuing following the invasion Russia’s Vladimir Putin recently launched, but those defending Ukraine have obtained significant battlefield successes, including the recent liberation of the Kyiv suburb known as Irpin. That town’s mayor, Oleksandr Markushyn, said when announcing Irpin’s liberation that Ukrainian forces “will continue to advance and liberate Bucha, Hostomel, Vorzel,” which are in the area — making clear that the Russian withdrawal is not a move they’re simply taking of their own accord. Putin’s invaders have, rather, faced significant strategic defeats by Ukraine’s defenders.
⚡️Russian missile strike destroys fuel depot in Khmelnytskyi Oblast.
Mykola Melnychuk, mayor of Starokostiantyniv, said that there were no casualties as a result of the March 29 strike on the town’s airport but all strategic reserves of fuels and lubricants have been destroyed.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 29, 2022
Sciutto, meanwhile, reported that the U.S. is “already observing movements underway of Russian Battalion Tactical Groups,” otherwise known as BTGs. Sciutto also added as follows this Tuesday:
‘In the US view, this is not a short-term adjustment to regroup, but a longer-term move as Russia comes to grips with failure to advance in the north. [The] Russian [Ministry of Defense] said Tuesday it has decided to “drastically reduce hostilities” in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions. US officials make clear the pullback is the direct result of Russia’s failure to make further gains around Kyiv, thwarting its plan to quickly encircle and take the capital. Moreover, Russian forces that withdraw from the north will likely deploy to other parts of Ukraine.’
Ukrainian authorities confirmed the partial withdrawals from around the capital, according to The Kyiv Independent. Ukrinform, a Ukrainian government information outlet, explained early this week that fighting in the eastern parts of the country was apparently intensifying — in “the Donetsk direction, Russian invaders increased fire pressure and intensified storming activities in most areas,” they said. Going forward, peace negotiations are continuing, and there’s been talk of putting a wide-ranging deal to a vote by the people of Ukraine.
⚡️Poland to block coal imports from Russia.
“We cannot wait any longer for the EU reaction on the issue,” said Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller. “We are aware of the risks.”
Almost 20% of Polish coal comes from Russia.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 29, 2022
The devastation inflicted by Putin’s invaders is catastrophic and far-reaching — across individual cities including Mariupol and Kharkiv, thousands of apartment blocks have been destroyed, and in Mariupol, the death toll has reached some 5,000, including what’s believed to be some 210 children. In a single strike there on a theater in use as a shelter, Russian forces are believed to have killed some 300 people, and deaths from starvation have been reported in the city. Although, as President Joe Biden recently noted, it doesn’t bring back the dead, Russia’s strategic failures are expansive amid this devastatingly broad conflict — over half a dozen of Russia’s generals have died in Ukraine according to information currently available, and Ukraine was recently reported to have apparently added to the total number of tanks under its control since the war began last month. That development is because the pace at which Ukraine captured operational Russian tanks offset their tank losses.
⚡️General Staff: Russia partially withdraws military units from Kyiv, Chernihiv oblasts.
According to Ukraine’s military, the Russian army is regrouping in the east to concentrate its military power in the area. In the south, Russia is preparing to resume offensive operations.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 29, 2022
