Russia Transferring Troops From Near Kyiv To JFO Zone And Near Mariupol Where There Are Fierce Battles

Russia is moving troops from near Kyiv to the zone of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) and near Mariupol in Donbas, where fierce battles is taking place.

Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President Oleksii Arestovych said this on the air of the national telethon, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"The hostilities in Ukraine continue and they will still be in the active phase for at least a week, since the Russians are not just transferring part of the troops from near Kyiv and from the north of Ukraine to the JFO zone and near Mariupol in order to have an advantage there (quality and quantitative), and are trying to encircle our troops in the JFO zone, there are now very heavy battles going on, as well as in Mariupol, which is half occupied by Russian troops, where fighting is taking place directly on the streets of the city," Arestovych said.

He noted that Russian troops partially remain near Kyiv in order to hold Ukrainian troops, preventing them from being transferred to strengthen positions in the JFO zone.

Also, according to him, there is no significant reduction of Russian troops near Chernihiv.

Arestovych, commenting on the course of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, stressed that the negotiation line and the line on the battlefield are two separate lines, any war ends with a peace agreement and it is better to prepare it in advance, as this will shorten the time for reaching a peace agreement after they stop fighting.

At the same time, he noted that in all parameters of the negotiations, Ukraine improved its position on March 29, even in comparison with the situation on February 23, before the start of the war.

So, before the war, Ukraine was a neutral state without guarantees, but now it is about security guarantees for Ukraine.

On the Facebook social network, Arestovych stressed that the concrete result of the war would be determined mainly by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other defense forces on the battlefield, negotiations would not slow down the war and would not cancel it.

“Somewhere the negotiating and military lines will converge and this will definitely be a victory for Ukraine. And Russian troops will hit the cities until the very end of the conflict. And Kyiv, including. We also hit - both on the advancing and retreating. Strongly. The fact that the Russians fell down near Kyiv, and in general in the north and are on the defensive near Kherson, does not mean either an imminent victory, or the ease of our actions, or the absence of losses and problems... Negotiations will not slow down the war and will not cancel it," he wrote.

Arestovych also assures that Russia will not be able to use the talks to build up forces.

“Putin will in no way “use the negotiations to build up forces,” because, firstly, he is losing these negotiations (and badly), and secondly, we not only do not reduce the intensity of our military operations, we increase them. Because Putin is losing negotiations because he loses on the battlefield," he wrote.

As Ukrainian News Agency reported, on March 29, the Ukrainian delegation officially announced the proposals to the Russian side on key positions on the agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine.

Ukraine sees as guarantors of its security the countries - permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (USA, Great Britain, France, China, Russia), as well as Turkey, Germany, Canada, Italy, Poland, Israel, and considers it possible for other countries that want to become guarantors to join.

Deputy Defense Minister of Russia Aleksandr Fomin, following negotiations with the Ukrainian side on March 29 in Turkey, said that Russia had decided to drastically reduce military activity in Kyiv and Chernihiv directions.

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