Russian forces pounded areas around Kyiv and another Ukrainian city overnight, local officials said Wednesday, just hours after Moscow pledged to scale back military operations in those places. The shelling further tempered optimism about possible progress in talks aimed at ending the punishing war.

Russia did not spell out what exactly a reduction in activity would look like, and while the promise initially raised hopes that a path toward ending the bloody war of attrition was at hand, Ukraine's president and others cautioned that the commitments could merely be bluster.

Ukrainian authorities said Wednesday that Russian forces had bombarded the northern city of Chernigiv despite Moscow's earlier claims that it was "radically" scaling back military activity in the area.

"The enemy has demonstrated its 'decrease in activity' in the Chernigiv region with strikes on Nizhyn, including air strikes. Chernigiv was shelled all night," regional governor Vyacheslav Chaus wrote on social media. 

- Chernigiv 'shelled all night' - 

Authorities in the war-scarred northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv say the area was 'shelled all night' despite Russia's pledge to scale back attacks on the area as well as near the capital Kyiv following what it called "meaningful" progress at peace talks.

Turkey said Wednesday Ukrainian and Russian delegations have decided to return home for consultations after making progress in negotiations.

The talks on Tuesday hosted by Turkey sketched out what could end up being a framework for ending the war. The talks had been expected to resume on Wednesday, but Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the two sides were bringing the proposals back to their capitals.

Russia's Ukraine invasion, which has already exacerbated food woes in parts of Africa and the Middle East, is marring preparations for the holy month of Ramadan and forcing a turn to frugal iftar sunset meals. 

From Lebanon to Tunisia and Somalia, Muslims who traditionally break a dawn-to-dusk fast with lavish family meals, are now struggling to secure even the most basic staples in light of skyrocketing food and fuel prices.

Poland will take steps to cut Russian oil imports by the end of 2022, the prime minister said Wednesday, as Germany triggered an early warning level for natural gas supplies and called on consumers to save energy amid Russia's war in Ukraine.

Poland has already largely reduced its dependence on Russian oil, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.

A World Cup like no other in its 92-year history will take shape this week at an unprecedented tournament draw.

When FIFA and host nation Qatar stage the draw ceremony show Friday, three of the 32 entries will be placeholders because the three-year qualifying program was delayed and still ongoing.

To administer this COVID test, Todd Kautz had to lay on his belly in the snow and worm his upper body into the narrow den of a hibernating black bear. Training a light on its snout, Kautz carefully slipped a long cotton swab into the bear's nostrils five times.

For postdoctoral researcher Kautz and a team of other wildlife experts, tracking the coronavirus means freezing temperatures, icy roads, trudging through deep snow and getting uncomfortably close to potentially dangerous wildlife.

China's ambitions to have a major hand in Afghanistan's stability and development under the Taliban, while boosting its own stature, will be on display at a pair of multinational meetings it is hosting starting Wednesday.

China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are expected to send representatives to the main meetings involving neighboring states.

A Saudi-led coalition battling rebels who hold Yemen's capital began a unilateral cease-fire Wednesday in the yearslong war, even as the insurgents said they rejected the proposal.

The Saudi-proposed pause in fighting began at 6 a.m. ahead of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Several similar efforts have failed, and there was no immediate independent confirmation on whether hostilities paused between Saudi-led forces and Yemen's Houthi rebels.