As the conflict in Ukraine continues and the battle appears to be one of attrition, the US asserted that it has information indicating that tensions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his military are increasing. "What I can say is that we have information that Putin was misled by the Russian military, resulting in persistent tension between Putin and his military leadership," White House Press Secretary Kate Bedingfield told reporters during her daily news conference. "We believe that Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about how poorly the Russian military is performing and how sanctions are crippling the Russian economy, because his senior advisors are too afraid to tell him the truth," she said.

This comes as Russian forces shelled areas surrounding Kyiv and another Ukrainian city overnight, just hours after Moscow pledged to reduce military operations in those areas. The shelling tempered optimism about possible progress in peace talks aimed at putting an end to the brutal war.

Russia did not specify how the reduction in activity would be implemented. While the promise initially raised hopes of an end to the bloody war of attrition, Ukraine's president and others cautioned that the commitments could be mere bluster. Meanwhile, Moscow reacted Wednesday coolly to Kyiv's proposed framework for a peace deal, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noting that Ukraine's written proposals were a "positive factor" but adding that he saw no breakthrough.

According to the British defense ministry, heavy losses have forced some Russian units to return to Belarus and Russia to regroup. Still, Moscow will almost certainly compensate for any reduction in ground maneuvers through mass artillery and missile barrages. Additionally, the Russian military reported a new round of missile strikes against Ukrainian arsenals and fuel depots in the last 24 hours.

As Moscow's five-week-old war continued, the fallout went beyond Ukraine's borders. The United Nations reported that refugees fleeing Syria had surpassed a staggering 4 million. At the same time, Germany, Europe's industrial powerhouse, issued a warning about its natural gas supplies amid concerns that Russia may cut off deliveries unless it is compensated in rubles.