Your Evening Briefing: Russians Retreat From Chernobyl Reactor

NATO allies reiterated their doubts about Kremlin promises to withdraw troops from around the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, saying instead Vladimir Putin is simply repositioning some forces while replenishing others. Shelling of Ukrainian cities continued overnight while the Russian government formally called up more than 134,000 conscripts as part of its annual draft. Kremlin forces are pulling back from at least one area, however. Russian soldiers are leaving the site of the doomed Chernobyl nuclear plant after Ukrainian authorities said some of them received significant doses of radiation.

Fossil fuels are becoming an ever-more important aspect of Russia’s broader confrontation with the West. Putin has both threatened to cut off gas supplies to “unfriendly” states and reassured Europeans that gas will keep flowing even as he demands payment in rubles. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is floating the idea that Europe withhold a share of the revenue that goes to Russia for its energy exports.