INTERNATIONAL: Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia are continuing "but for the moment there are just words, nothing concrete", Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a televised address late on Wednesday 30 March.

Russia's invasion of its neighbor, now in its fifth week, has driven around four millions of Ukrainians from their homes and brought Russian-Western tensions to their worst point since the Cold War.

At peace talks this week in Istanbul, Russia said it would curtail operations near Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv to build trust.

But Ukraine and its Western allies, including the United States, dismissed Russia's pledge as a ploy to stem its losses and prepare for other attacks. Russia says its forces are regrouping to focus on "liberating" the breakaway eastern Donbas region.

Zelenskiy referred to Russian troop movements away from Kyiv and Chernihiv and said that was not a withdrawal but rather "the consequence of our defenders' work." He added that Ukraine is seeing "a build-up of Russian forces for new strikes on the Donbas and we are preparing for that."

Moscow has cultivated close ties with pro-Russian separatists controlling swathes of the Donbas region, which encompasses two self-proclaimed "people's republics" that Russia says it is helping to free from Ukrainian control.

Zelenskiy also spoke of his call with U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday where they discussed additional U.S. aid, sanctions, and Kyiv's peace talks with Russia. The United States intends to give Ukraine $500 million in direct budgetary aid.

^{PHOTO: UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY SAYING TALKS BETWEEN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE ARE CONTINUING / SAYING UKRAINIAN FORCES WERE PREPARING FOR NEW ATTACKS BY RUSSIA IN THE DONBAS AREA / COMMENTING ON CALL WITH BIDEN AND HUMANITARIAN AID PACKAGE / COMMENTS ON DIPLOMATS}