Ukraine, the U.S., and Western allies have dismissed a Russian military pullback from near Kyiv as a ploy to refit troops after Russia maintained heavy losses.
Russia announced that it was curtailing operations near Kyiv and near the northern city of Chernihiv in order to “increase mutual trust” for ongoing peace talks. But this comes after nearly five weeks of an invasion during which Russia has failed to capture any major cities.
It also comes as Russia continues to bombard cities elsewhere and continue to obliterate the besieged city of Mariupol.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy made an overnight address in which he said that he takes nothing that Moscow says at face value, including this news of an alleged pullback.
Zelenskiyy said that Ukrainians are “not naive people,” and have already learned much during the 34 days of invasion and over the eight years of war in Donbas. He said all that Ukrainians can trust is a “concrete result.”
Ukrainian presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovych said that Moscow was shifting some forces from northern Ukraine to the east and that this is where it will attempt to encircle the main Ukrainian force.
The U.S. Pentagon said that this move seems to be more of a repositioning than a withdrawal and that the world should be prepared for a major offensive against other parts of Ukraine. Spokesman John Kirby also said in a news briefing that this by no means means that threat to Kyiv is over.
The UK Defense Ministry said that Moscow was being forced to pull out its troops from Kyiv in order to resupply and reorganize after heavy losses were endured. It also added that Russia was likely to compensate for reduced ground maneuver capabilities through airstrikes, missile strikes, and mass artillery.
Ukrainian forces made gains over the past week, recapturing towns and villages on the outside of Kyiv, and breaking through the siege that was being held on the city of Sumy in the east.
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