Russia says it pulls back some of military forces from Ukraine's border
The day of the Russian possible invasion to Ukraine has been delayed since the Russian forces are to be pulled back from the Ukraine border.
On Tuesday, Russia criticized an alleged imminent invasion to Ukraine as “ostentatious hysteria” and announced that it is moving some of its military forces from Ukraine’s border. This is the first huge step back to de-escalation of the week-long tension between Russia and the West.
One thing that is notable is that it appears Russian units in Belarus have been heading back to Russia. The Allied Resolve exercise should be in midswing, so this could indicate some of these forces are being moved to staging areas in Russia near the border with Ukraine. https://t.co/Zs0Fh11MQL
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) February 14, 2022
However, the West is not completely into the pullback and doubt that the invasion has been canceled. The reason for questioning is that a massive Russian force is still arriving near the border.
Recently it was widely reported about an estimated 130,000 Russian forces at the north, east and south of the former Soviet state.
“We’ve always said the troops will return to their bases after the exercises are over. This is the case this time as well,” Press Secretary of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov said, according to Reuters.
On Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry released a video showing some tanks and other military equipment being loaded onto railway cars.
But still it is unclear exactly how many forces will be withdrawn.
Another footage released by the Russian defense ministry, supposedly showing how Russian forces are withdrawing from the Ukrainian border pic.twitter.com/iEyQtWc5dx
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) February 15, 2022
On Russian statements regarding withdrawal of some forces from the Ukrainian border. We in Ukraine have a rule: we don’t believe what we hear, we believe what we see. If a real withdrawal follows these statements, we will believe in the beginning of a real de-escalation.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) February 15, 2022
Peskov also accused the US of fueling the crisis by warning repeatedly of an invasion, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin “asks to find out if the exact time, to the hour, of the start of the war has been published.
“It’s impossible to be understanding of this manic information madness,” the Kremlin spokesman concluded.
The Biden administration has not seen indications that Russia is drawing down troops on the border.
“The path for diplomacy remains available if Russia chooses to engage constructively,” White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday. “However, we are clear-eyed about the prospects of that, given the steps Russia is taking on the ground in plain sight.”