Ukrainian cities suffer more attacks amid glimmers of hope for halting fighting

KYIV, Ukraine — An around-the-clock curfew brought the the Ukrainian capital to a standstill and Russian forces stepped up fierce attacks on civilian areas across the country Wednesday, even as both Moscow and Kyiv reported signs of progress toward halting a war that has set off a spiraling humanitarian and refugee crisis.

As more deaths, injuries and damage were reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv and other Ukrainian cities, Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to bat aside assessments by Western military officials and analysts that his forces had become bogged down in their attempt to speedily subdue Ukraine. At a televised government meeting, Putin insisted that what Russia calls its “special military operation” was going successfully and according to plan.

President Joe Biden, meanwhile, echoed growing international condemnation of the wholesale