Russia’s government announced that some of its troops were returning to their bases after exercises near Ukraine and scoffed at Western warnings of an impending invasion, but the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said it had yet to see no evidence of a de-escalation that can avoid a conflict.
Russia did not say how many units were withdrawing, or to what extent, after a concentration of some 130,000 troops in northern, eastern and southern Ukraine has triggered one of the worst crises in relations with the West since the Cold War.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said after meeting with President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin that the withdrawal of some Russian troops was a good sign.
Others were more cautious. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said “the information we’re seeing today is still not encouraging,” and Ukraine said it needed to see the pullout to believe it.
“If we see a withdrawal, we will believe in a de-escalation,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Interfax Ukraine.
The NATO chief welcomed signs from Russia in the last two days that it might be seeking a diplomatic solution, but urged Moscow to show a willingness to act.
“There are signs from Moscow that diplomacy must continue. This gives reason for cautious optimism. But so far we haven’t seen any signs of de-escalation on the ground from Russia,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
The official said Russia often left military equipment behind after exercises, creating the possibility of forces regrouping.
In a joint news conference with Scholz, Putin only briefly referred to the troop movements and did not go into detail.
Russia has always denied that it plans to invade Ukraine, saying troops can exercise on its own territory as it sees fit.
Putin has been pushing for a series of security concessions from the West, including a guarantee that Ukraine will never join NATO.
The Russian president declared that his country would not be satisfied with being told that the former Soviet republic was not ready to join NATO in the short term and that he demanded that the issue be resolved now.
“As for the war in Europe, about whether we want it or not? Of course not. That is why we present proposals for a negotiation process, the result of which should be an agreement to guarantee equal security for all, including our country”, he said.
Scholz maintained that diplomatic possibilities were far from exhausted.
“For us Germans, but also Europeans, sustainable security can only be achieved with Russia. Therefore, it should be possible to find a solution. As difficult and dire as the situation may seem, I refuse to say it is hopeless,” she said.
The lower house of the Russian parliament has voted to ask Putin to recognize two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent.
Recognition of the self-proclaimed Donets and Luhansk People’s Republics could end the Minsk peace process in eastern Ukraine, where conflict between government forces and Moscow-backed separatists has claimed 15,000 lives.
Asked about the measure, Putin said that the problems of the regions must be resolved on the basis of the Minsk agreements, which were signed in 2014 and 2015 but have never been implemented. Scholz said all parties should stick to those agreements.
‘Could be imminent’
Russia’s show of force near Ukraine’s borders has sparked months of frantic Western diplomacy and drawn threats of harsh sanctions if it invades, culminating in a crescendo of US and British warnings in recent days that the attack could come at any time. .
“As for the timing of an attack, it could be imminent,” British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Tuesday. Russian troops could reach Ukraine’s capital Kiev “very, very quickly,” she added.
The Kremlin tried to present the moves as proof that Western war warnings had been false and hysterical.
“February 15, 2022 will go down in history as the day Western war propaganda failed. Humiliated and destroyed without a single shot,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
The Russian Defense Ministry released images showing tanks and other armored vehicles being loaded onto rail cars. Western military analysts said they needed more information to judge the significance of the latest troop movements.
“You have to remain cautiously skeptical,” said Henry Boyd of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. “There have been discrepancies in the past between Russia’s official announcements and its actions on the ground.”
Commercial satellite images taken on Sunday and Monday showed a flurry of Russian military activity in various locations near Ukraine, including large deployments of troops and attack helicopters, and warplanes moving to forward locations.
Source: Gestion
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