Hopes of an early breakthrough in war-ravaged Ukraine were fading Wednesday as Russian forces continued to pound the cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv, a day after Moscow said it would “drastically reduce” its military assault there.

Officials in Ukraine said there had been no reduction in hostilities overnight and the mayor of Chernihov told CNN of a “colossal attack” on his city Wednesday, despite apparent progress in talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators in Istanbul, Turkey, the day before.

Images emerged showing the extent of destruction in the besieged southeastern port city of Mariupol, where whole city blocks appear to have been wiped out during weeks of bombardment.

“There was an air alarm throughout the country during the night. In fact, there were no areas without sirens. In the morning they were repeated,” Vadym Denysenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, said Wednesday.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine will vote to confirm President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, she said in a statement Wednesday morning, the first GOP senator to do so.

“After reviewing Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s extensive record, watching much of her hearing testimony, and meeting with her twice in person, I have concluded that she possesses the experience, qualifications, and integrity to serve as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court,” Collins said in her statement. “I will, therefore, vote to confirm her to this position.”

She first told The New York Times of her decision to support Jackson before releasing a statement. Jackson’s confirmation had been virtually assured following the announcement last week that moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia would vote for her, but Collins’ support means her confirmation will be bipartisan.

Collins’ announcement comes a day after she met with Jackson for a second time and later told reporters she “provided clarification on some of the issues, so it was a useful meeting.”

Russian forces pounded areas around Ukraine’s capital and another city overnight, regional leaders said Wednesday, just hours after Moscow pledged to scale back military operations in those places. The shelling further tempered optimism about any progress in talks aimed at ending the punishing war.

Russia did not spell out what exactly it planned to do differently, and while the promise initially raised hopes that a path toward peace was coming into view, Ukraine’s president and others cautioned that the remarks could merely be bluster and the Kremlin’s spokesman said he saw no breakthrough in the talks.

Ukrainian officials said Russian shelling hit homes, shops, libraries and other “civilian infrastructure” in the northern city of Chernihiv and on the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv.

The barrages came as Britain’s Defense Ministry warned that while heavy losses have forced some Russian units to return to Belarus and Russia, Moscow would likely compensate for any reduction in ground maneuvers by using mass artillery and missile strikes. The Ukrainian military, meanwhile, said Russian troops were intensifying their attacks around the eastern city of Izyum and the eastern Donetsk region, after redeploying some units from other areas.

In a new interview published Tuesday, former President Donald Trump called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to release any damaging information he has about the Biden family, in a brazen request for domestic political assistance from America’s top adversary.

It’s the latest example of Trump’s willingness to solicit and embrace domestic political help from foreign powers — even from Putin, who is currently overseeing a bloody war against Ukraine.

In an interview with JustTheNews, Trump pushed an unproven claim about Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Russia, and asked Putin to release any information that he might have about the situation. It’s not clear that any material exists, or if the Kremlin has access to it.

“I would think Putin would know the answer to that,” Trump said, referring to Hunter Biden’s potential dealings in Russia. “I think he should release it. I think we should know that answer.”

It is true that Hunter Biden was paid handsomely for consulting work he did in foreign countries, including Ukraine and China, while his father — President Joe Biden — was vice president. The Justice Department has an ongoing criminal investigation into these dealings and potential financial crimes.