Russia is sending new forces to Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a speech to the Norwegian Parliament on Wednesday according to Bloomberg. He urged European countries to ban Russian ships from entering their ports. 

Zelenskyy's comments are seemingly at odds with Russia's claim on Tuesday that it would be scaling down military operations near northern cities in Ukraine in order to foster more conducive conditions for negotiations. The US had expressed skepticism about Russian claims, instead labelling it a major strategic shift. Likely, Russia's aims now will be to consolidate gains made in the south and east of Ukraine in order to strengthen its hand at the negotiating table and that could well involve sending more troops into the country.