According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia boasts about reducing military operations in certain areas of Ukraine “don’t drown out the explosions of Russian bombs.”

The Ukrainian president made the remarks at a speech that was broadcast on social media on Tuesday night.

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“I’m sure you saw the news that the Russian military allegedly decided to scale down their attacks in the Kyiv and Chernihiv areas,” he said. The president went on to say Ukraine does not want to lose its vigilance and that the situation “hasn’t become easier.”

“The scale of challenges hasn’t diminished. The Russian army still has a sizable potential to carry on their attacks against our country. They have plenty of equipment and people who are disenfranchised who they could send into the fire of war,” the 44-year-old President added.

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Zelensky continued, saying, “On this very basis I regard the reports on the negotiation process which continues on different levels with the representatives of the Russian Federation. The enemy is still on our territory. They carry on shelling our cities. Mariupol is besieged. Rocket and air attacks are not stopping.”

Ukrainians, according to Zelensky, cannot trust remarks from officials of a government that is “still pursuing our annihilation.”

Zelensky also stated on Tuesday night that Ukraine intends to continue negotiations.

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“We have to achieve real security for our country,” he said.

Ukraine’s president has urged the international community to maintain sanctions on Russia while negotiations continue.

“Some countries might not expect that certain negotiations will affect the lifting of sanctions against the Russian Federation. The question of sanctions cannot even be raised until the war is over, until we get what belongs to us back, and until we restore justice,” Zelensky said. Every week, he advocated for sanctions to be reinforced and intensified.

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“And they must be of a high quality. Not just for headlines in the media that sanctions have been imposed, but for actual peace,” he added.

On Tuesday, representatives from Russia and Ukraine met in person in Istanbul. This comes on the same day that Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported a “drastically reduce military activity” on two fronts: Kyiv and Chernihiv.

“I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are,” US President Joe Biden said of Moscow’s remark.