Russian forces bombarded the outskirts of Kyiv and a besieged city in northern Ukraine on Wednesday, a day after promising to scale down operations there in what the West dismissed as a ploy to regroup by the invaders taking heavy losses.

Nearly five weeks into an invasion in which it has failed to capture any major cities, Russia said it would curtail operations near Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv “to increase mutual trust” for peace talks.

But intensified bombardment could be heard in Kyiv on Wednesday morning from the direction of frontline suburbs where Ukrainian forces have regained territory in recent days. The capital itself was not hit, but windows rattled from the relentless artillery on its outskirts.

Reuters journalists southeast of Irpin, a Kyiv suburb which has seen weeks of heavy clashes, heard the sound of frequent shelling and ordnance exploding on the ground and in the air. Ukrainians evacuating spoke of heavy shelling north of Irpin, shells landing in Irpin itself and bodies in the streets.

Chernihiv’s mayor Vladyslav Astroshenko said Russian bombardment of that city had intensified over the past 24 hours, with more than 100,000 people trapped inside with just enough food and medical supplies to last about another week.

“This is yet another confirmation that Russia always lies,” he told CNN. “They actually have increased the intensity of strikes”, with “a colossal mortar attack in the centre of Chernihiv” on Wednesday wounding 25 civilians.

Reuters could not verify the situation in Chernihiv. Russia’s defence ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Irpin was recaptured by Ukrainian forces this week. Reuters journalists who entered on Tuesday saw Ukrainian troops patrolling an abandoned ghost town of ruined buildings, with the body of an old man and a woman lying on the streets.

In an overnight address, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky made it clear that he took nothing Moscow said at face value.

“Ukrainians are not naive people,” he said.