On the weekend, Russian military officials said they would refocus its campaign in Ukraine on “liberating” the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. That was quickly discounted when it upped the ante and its air raids on cities in the west of the country. And overnight, Russia has announced it will “drastically reduce” military combat operations in two key areas – the capital Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv. It’s come about via peace talks that are currently underway in the Turkish city of Istanbul. Western intelligence shows Russian forces are drawing away from Kyiv, but they are still pounding the city, so there are questions about whether it’s a meaningful retreat. UK PM Boris Johnson is one sceptic – he said “we must judge Putin’s regime by their actions not their words”. The talks are ongoing… Meanwhile, the Australian Parliament is set for some Volodymyr Zelensky action – he will beam in for a live address tomorrow afternoon.