KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Heavy fighting raged on the outskirts of Kyiv and other zones amid indications the Kremlin is using talk of de-escalation as cover while regrouping and resupplying its forces and redeploying them for a stepped-up offensive in eastern Ukraine.
Meanwhile Thursday a convoy of buses was heading to Mariupol in another attempt to evacuate people from the besieged port city. After the Russian military agreed to a limited cease-fire in the area, the Red Cross said Thursday its teams were traveling to Mariupol with relief and medical supplies and hoped to help pull civilians out of the beleaguered city on Friday. Previous attempts at establishing a humanitarian corridor out of the city have fallen apart.
