Russia on Tuesday indicated his desire to tame a part of the tension over Ukraine by announcing some of his troops back to their base after completing the training, but the move was greeted by skeptics by NATO and the US, who said the claim was not verified.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, spoke at the Kremlin after meeting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said Russia had decided to withdraw some troops. He added that he would encourage Western “guarantee” and to agree that Ukraine would never be allowed to be part of NATO – adding expectations that the invasion that seems to be avoided immediately.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said troops from the South and West Military District, were located not far from the border with Ukraine, had begun to move back to the base, but did not provide details about how many troops involved. The ministry said large-scale training would continue, with almost all Russian military districts participating.
The US warned that the possibility of Russian invasion to Ukraine remained “real”, transferring its embassy operations from Kyiv, announcing greater financial support for Ukraine and continuing consultation with allies. However, the US market which fell on fear of Russian invasion on Monday, traded higher early on Tuesday.
Julianne Smith, US Ambassador to NATO, said US “must verify” Russian claims about moving towards a kind of escalation, while Nat Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said there were no signs of de-escalation in the field.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister DMYTRO KULEBA is also skeptical about Russian statement regarding the withdrawal of several powers of the Ukrainian border, writing on Twitter: “We in Ukraine have rules: We do not believe what we hear, we believe what we saw. If a real withdrawal follows the statement This, we will believe at the beginning of real de-escalation. “
Some videos appear on social media on Tuesday which seems to suggest that Russia continues the buildup of troops and heavy equipment in the area such as Belgorod, located less than 30 km from the Ukrainian border.
The US said Russia had collected more than 130,000 troops near the border with Ukraine and American officials had repeatedly said the invasion could occur this week. On Tuesday, India joined countries that have asked their citizens to leave Ukraine, say Indian citizens, especially students, must “consider temporarily”.
In Washington, the mood remains one of the caution. State Secretary Antony Blinken said on Monday the US will temporarily “move the operation of his embassy in Ukraine” from the capital of Kyiv to Lviv “due to dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian troops”. He said the move was taken to ensure staff safety, and repeat US appeal to Americans to leave Ukraine.
At the same time, in a sign that the closure of the embassy would not erode support for Ukraine, Blinken announced that the US would offer sovereignty loans to Ukraine to $ 1 billion to support its economic reform and continuing involvement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
This offer – combined with a strong partnership between Ukraine, IMF, other international financial institutions, G7 and other bilateral donors – will increase the ability of Ukraine to ensure economic stability, growth and prosperity for its people in the face of Russian destabilization behavior,” he said.
Ned Price’s State Department spokesman said while the US believed there was still room for diplomacy, it was “guilty on the transparency side” with allies and partners.
