Russia pulling back to resupply, not end war, US says

Russian troops have continued to retreat from Kyiv in the last 24 hours, although the withdrawal remains at about 20% of the force Russian President Vladimir Putin sent to seize the Ukrainian capital, a senior Defense official said Thursday.

The Pentagon believes that the Russians are pulling back to get resupplied, not to wind down the war, said the official who was not authorized to speak publicly about intelligence assessments. As evidence of that, the official pointed to continued air strikes and shelling of Kyiv by Russian troops.

The official spoke to reporters hours after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg provided the same assessment in a briefing in Brussels. Stoltenberg also pledged that NATO will supply Ukraine with weapons for its death-grip struggle against Russia’s invasion for as long as necessary.

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The alliance remains unconvinced that Russia is negotiating in good faith in the peace talks taking place in Istanbul. Russia must be judged on actions, not words, “and it is obvious that we have seen little willingness from the Russian side to find a political solution,” he said.

“Russia maintains pressure on Kyiv and other cities,” he said. “So we can expect additional offensive actions, bringing even more suffering.”

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Latest developments:

► President Joe Biden will order the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day for the next six months from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve in response to a spike in gas prices triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

► UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield will travel to Moldova and Romania on Saturday to focus on efforts to assist refugees and the overwhelming humanitarian needs created by the war.

►Russia backed off a requirement that European countries pay for natural gas in rubles, allowing payments through a Russian bank that would convert the payments to rubles, Russian state media said. The rubles mandate had been set to begin Friday.

►Nineteen people were found dead under rubble after a rocket attack on a regional administration building in the southern city of Mykolaiv, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported.

►Talks between Ukraine and Russia will summarize Friday by video, the head of the Ukrainian delegation, David Arakhamia, said. Ukraine will not sign a peace treaty until Moscow withdraws its troops, he said.

Germany: More sanctions needed

Germany’s economy minister says Europe should impose additional sanctions on Russia to encourage an end to what he described as a “barbaric” war in Ukraine. Robert Habeck said he discussed additional measures with French officials Thursday in Berlin.

“The last package doesn’t need to be the final one, it should not be the final one,” he said. Habeck said French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire had identified additional sanctions but did not detail them.

Habeck declined to elaborate on what those points might be. Current sanctions include the freezing of assets held by the Russian central bank in the EU, the exclusion of Russian banks from the SWIFT banking system, and a ban on EU companies exporting high-tech products to Russia.

No easing of bombardment in Kyiv

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated what US and British intelligence officials have been saying for two days – that the military scale-back in and around Kyiv promised by the Kremlin actually appears to be forces repositioning and regrouping. The mayor of Kyiv says Russian forces, instead of easing their stranglehold around Kyiv, have intensified bombardment homes, stores, libraries and other civilian sites on the city’s outskirts.

“It’s not true,” Kyiv Major Vitali Klitschko said in a video address to European Union regional officials translated by Reuters. “The whole night we listened to sirens, to rocket attacks and we listened to huge explosions east of Kyiv and north of Kyiv. There are immense battles there, people died, still die.”

Zelenskyy asks Australia for armored vehicles

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Australia to increase sanctions against Russia and send him some armored vehicles in a video speech Thursday to the Australian Parliament.

“Most of all we have to keep those who are fighting against this evil armed,” he said. Finance Minister Simon Birmingham did not directly respond to the request in a briefing, saying the government was considering what was practical. He said Australia has already provided missiles and protective gear to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said that the current war might not have happened if Russia had been punished after Russian-backed separatists shot down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014. Thirty-eight Australians were among the 298 aboard, all of whom perished.

“The unpunished evil comes back,” Zelenskyy said.

Regime change? Russians don’t appear interested

The percentage of Russians who think their country and its institutions are moving in the right direction has sharply increased since the nation invaded Ukraine, according to polling by the independent Levada Center, a Russian research nonprofit organization.

In March, 69% of Russians said they believe their country is moving in the right direction – a 17 point increase from the month prior. It’s the highest rating of approval the center has on record for the country’s direction as a whole.

The approval ratings for Russian political figures also starkly rose in March. Support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s activities rose to 83% this month compared to February’s 71% approval, and confidence in Russian President Vladimir Putin increased 10 points to 44%.

Levada director Denis Volkov told the independent, English-language Moscow Times the numbers reflect the nation rallying around its leaders in the initial stages of war. Volkov said the positive numbers are likely to drop amid the economic uncertainty wrought by Western sanctions – when “there is no big euphoria, people feel the seriousness of the situation.”

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Russia calls up 134,500 military conscripts

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Thursday ordering 134,500 new conscripts into the army as part of Russia’s annual spring draft, but the defense ministry said the call-up was unrelated to the war. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the conscripts, ages 18-27, would be dispatched to bases in late May for 3-5 months of training. None will be sent to combat “hot spots,” he said.

The defense ministry acknowledged earlier this month that some conscripts had been taking part in the war, this despite Putin saying only professional soldiers and officers had been sent to Ukraine. The Kremlin said Putin ordered military prosecutors to investigate and punish the officials responsible for disobeying his instructions to exclude conscripts.

Putin aides reportedly afraid to tell him how poorly war is going

US and British intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about Russian forces’ performance in Ukraine.

Jeremy Fleming, the head of the UK’s spy service, said it “increasingly looks like Putin has massively misjudged the situation.” He said Russian soldiers, short on weapons and morale, are refusing to carry out orders and sabotaging their own equipment.

“And even though we believe Putin’s advisers are afraid to tell him the truth, what’s going on and the extent of these misjudgments must be crystal clear to the regime,” Fleming said.

A US official who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity said Putin has felt misled by the Russian military, leading to tension between the sides.

Red Cross ready for Mariupol evacuation Friday

The International Committee of the Red Cross says its teams are ready to help evacuate civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol.

“Our team in #Ukraine is on the road right now to be ready to: Facilitate the safe passage of civilians out of #Mariupol tomorrow. And bring aid,” the Red Cross tweeted Thursday. “All parties must agree to the exact terms. This operation is critical. Tens of thousands of lives depend on it.

The evacuation could begin Friday provided all the parties agree to the terms, route, start time and the duration, the Red Cross said. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Ukraine is sending out several dozen buses to collect civilians from Mariupol after Russia’s military agreed to a local cease-fire from the city to Ukraine-held Zaporizhzhia.