Russia shells areas in Ukraine where it vowed to scale back

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials say Russian forces pounded areas around Ukraine’s capital and another city overnight.

The attacks come hours after Moscow pledged to scale back military operations in those places.

The shelling further tempered optimism about any progress in talks aimed at ending the war.

Russia did not spell out what exactly it planned to do differently.

While the promise initially raised hopes that a path toward peace was coming into view, Ukraine’s president and others cautioned that the remarks could merely be bluster.

Ukrainian officials said Russian shelling hit “civilian infrastructure” in the northern city of Chernihiv and on the outskirts of Kyiv.

Moscow, meanwhile, reacted coolly Wednesday to Kyiv’s proposed framework for a peace deal.