Has Kyiv fought off Russia’s invasion?

When Vladimir Putin gave the order for an invasion of Ukraine, his plan was for his troops to stride into Kyiv and quickly remove the country’s democratically elected government.

Instead, his soldiers have been met with fierce resistance, incurring huge losses as Ukraine’s military – outgunned but determined – pushed back against the invading force.

Defending the capital, which is the heart of Ukraine’s government and a symbol of the country’s resistance, has remained key to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s war effort. He has remained defiant throughout the assault, vowing that his troops “will neutralise” the attackers.

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“We did not let them break the defence of the capital and they send saboteurs to us,” he has said. “For the enemy, Kyiv is the key target.”

The latest

Moscow is planning to “drastically” reduce its military activity around Kyiv and the besieged city of Chernihiv, Russia’s deputy defence minister has announced.

Alexander Fomin told Russian state media that the Kremlin has decided to “fundamentally cut back” operations near the capital city in an effort to “increase mutual trust” as talks aimed at ending the conflict resume in Turkey.

The decision “appears to be the first major concession the Russians have made since the beginning of their invasion in Ukraine more than a month ago”, Sky News reported. However, US defence officials have warned “the move could be used to build leverage in negotiations to cut off Ukrainian forces in the rest of the country”.

Russia said on Friday that the first phase of its “military operation” was complete, stating that it would now focus on completely “liberating” the eastern Donbas region.

The announcement by the country’s Ministry of Defence “appeared to indicate that Russia may be switching to more limited goals after running into fierce Ukrainian resistance in the first month of the war”, Al Jazeera said.

Has Kyiv staved off invasion?

Speaking after negotiators ended three hours of talks, Fomin said the reduction in military capacity around the capital would aid the “ultimate goal” of a signed agreement between the two sides, in comments reported by Russian news agency Ria Novosti.

“Negotiations over an agreement on Ukraine’s neutrality and non-nuclear status and security guarantees [for Ukraine] are moving into a practical stage,” he said, and Moscow was attempting to “create the necessary conditions” to complete them.

The announcement came hours after President Zelenskyy “praised his forces for retaking Irpin, a suburb of Kyiv and an important gateway to the capital, the latest in a series of counter attacks that pushed back Russian forces”, the Financial Times reported.

In a last night video address, Zelenskyy said: “The occupiers are pushed away from Irpin. Pushed away from Kyiv. It is too early to talk about security in this part of our region. The fighting continues. Russian troops control the north of Kyiv, have the resources and manpower.”

Ukranian forces have “put up strong resistance to invading Russian ones” who have spent weeks “attempting to surround and bomb the capital”, Al Jazeera said. Various attempts have been made by Russian troops to enter the city, but all “have failed”.

Fomin’s announcement today is “a sign of progress” in the ongoing ceasefire talks, The New York Times said. It now looks as if Russia will instead focus on consolidating its control over areas in the East, raising hopes that a full-assault on Kyiv can be avoided.

But “while negotiators had sketched the outlines of a potential ceasefire and moves towards a political settlement”, the FT reported that “diplomats in Kyiv, Moscow and the west” still remain “sceptical about any imminent breakthrough”.