Moscow: Russia said on Tuesday it was pulling some of its forces back to their bases near the border with Ukraine, in what would be the first major step towards de-escalation in weeks of crisis West,
The move comes amid an intense diplomatic effort to avert the possibility of a Russian attack on its pro-Western neighbour. Moscow gathered more than 100,000 troops near Ukrainelimits of.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was due to be the latest European leader to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, with talks later in Moscow.
The crisis – the worst between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War – peaked this week, with US officials warning that a full-scale invasion, including an attack on Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, was possible within days.
On Tuesday morning, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said that some forces stationed near Ukraine had completed their exercises and were getting ready to leave.
“The units of the Southern and Western Military Districts, having completed their tasks, have already started loading on rail and road transport and today they go to their military garrison,” the ministry’s chief spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said in a statement. Will start.”
It was not immediately clear how many units were involved and how the withdrawal would affect the total number of troops around Ukraine, but it was the first announcement of a Russian withdrawal in weeks.
Konashenkov said that “large-scale” Russian military exercises are continuing in several areas, including joint exercises Belarus and naval exercises in the Black Sea and elsewhere.
If Western officials confirm that Moscow is taking steps to reduce its military, it will help ease fears of a major war in Europe that has been raging for weeks.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested Tuesday’s news would reveal that it was the West that was escalating tensions with allegations of an invasion plan.
He wrote on social media, “February 15, 2022, will go down in history as Western war propaganda failed. Humiliated and destroyed without firing a single shot.”
On Monday, comments by Putin’s foreign and defense ministers had raised some hope of de-escalating tensions.
During a carefully choreographed meeting with Putin on Monday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there is “always a chance” of reaching an agreement with the West on Ukraine.
He told Putin that exchanges with leaders in European capitals and Washington showed a substantial opening for progress to advance Russia’s goals.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin that some Russian military exercises started in December were “finished” and would end “in the near future”.
Ukraine said on Tuesday that it appeared that Kiev and the West were able to prevent an invasion.
“We and our allies have managed to stop Russia from moving forward,” Foreign Minister Dimitro Kuleba told reporters on Tuesday.
“We have a rule: don’t believe what you hear, believe what you see. When we see a comeback, we’ll believe in a de-escalation.”
Scholz was to meet Putin a day after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev, where the German leader urged Moscow to “take up existing proposals for dialogue”.
Support from Germany, a major economic partner for Moscow and an importer of Russian gas, is key to a package of severe sanctions that Western leaders say will be imposed in response to an invasion.
Ahead of Tuesday’s talks, German Foreign Minister Annalena Barbock warned that “the situation is particularly dangerous and could escalate at any time”.
“The responsibility of de-escalation clearly rests with Russia, and it is for Moscow to withdraw its troops,” he said in a statement.
Moscow has repeatedly accused the West of the crisis, saying the United States and Western Europe are ignoring Moscow’s legitimate security concerns.
The Kremlin insisted that NATO should give assurances that Ukraine would never be admitted as a member and withdraw its presence in Eastern European countries.
Russia already controls the Crimean peninsula that it seized from Ukraine in 2014 and supports separatist forces that have taken control of parts of eastern Ukraine, in a conflict that claimed more than 14,000 lives. Is.
US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed in a call late Monday that there remains “a critical window for diplomacy”.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The leaders emphasized that any incursion into Ukraine would result in a protracted crisis for Russia, with far-reaching damage to both Russia and the world.”
Amid some claims by US officials that preparations for an offensive were being made for Wednesday, Zelensky declared it a “Unity Day”, urging Ukrainians to take to the streets in peaceful demonstrations of solidarity.
The move comes amid an intense diplomatic effort to avert the possibility of a Russian attack on its pro-Western neighbour. Moscow gathered more than 100,000 troops near Ukrainelimits of.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was due to be the latest European leader to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, with talks later in Moscow.
The crisis – the worst between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War – peaked this week, with US officials warning that a full-scale invasion, including an attack on Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, was possible within days.
On Tuesday morning, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said that some forces stationed near Ukraine had completed their exercises and were getting ready to leave.
“The units of the Southern and Western Military Districts, having completed their tasks, have already started loading on rail and road transport and today they go to their military garrison,” the ministry’s chief spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said in a statement. Will start.”
It was not immediately clear how many units were involved and how the withdrawal would affect the total number of troops around Ukraine, but it was the first announcement of a Russian withdrawal in weeks.
Konashenkov said that “large-scale” Russian military exercises are continuing in several areas, including joint exercises Belarus and naval exercises in the Black Sea and elsewhere.
If Western officials confirm that Moscow is taking steps to reduce its military, it will help ease fears of a major war in Europe that has been raging for weeks.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested Tuesday’s news would reveal that it was the West that was escalating tensions with allegations of an invasion plan.
He wrote on social media, “February 15, 2022, will go down in history as Western war propaganda failed. Humiliated and destroyed without firing a single shot.”
On Monday, comments by Putin’s foreign and defense ministers had raised some hope of de-escalating tensions.
During a carefully choreographed meeting with Putin on Monday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there is “always a chance” of reaching an agreement with the West on Ukraine.
He told Putin that exchanges with leaders in European capitals and Washington showed a substantial opening for progress to advance Russia’s goals.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin that some Russian military exercises started in December were “finished” and would end “in the near future”.
Ukraine said on Tuesday that it appeared that Kiev and the West were able to prevent an invasion.
“We and our allies have managed to stop Russia from moving forward,” Foreign Minister Dimitro Kuleba told reporters on Tuesday.
“We have a rule: don’t believe what you hear, believe what you see. When we see a comeback, we’ll believe in a de-escalation.”
Scholz was to meet Putin a day after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev, where the German leader urged Moscow to “take up existing proposals for dialogue”.
Support from Germany, a major economic partner for Moscow and an importer of Russian gas, is key to a package of severe sanctions that Western leaders say will be imposed in response to an invasion.
Ahead of Tuesday’s talks, German Foreign Minister Annalena Barbock warned that “the situation is particularly dangerous and could escalate at any time”.
“The responsibility of de-escalation clearly rests with Russia, and it is for Moscow to withdraw its troops,” he said in a statement.
Moscow has repeatedly accused the West of the crisis, saying the United States and Western Europe are ignoring Moscow’s legitimate security concerns.
The Kremlin insisted that NATO should give assurances that Ukraine would never be admitted as a member and withdraw its presence in Eastern European countries.
Russia already controls the Crimean peninsula that it seized from Ukraine in 2014 and supports separatist forces that have taken control of parts of eastern Ukraine, in a conflict that claimed more than 14,000 lives. Is.
US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed in a call late Monday that there remains “a critical window for diplomacy”.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The leaders emphasized that any incursion into Ukraine would result in a protracted crisis for Russia, with far-reaching damage to both Russia and the world.”
Amid some claims by US officials that preparations for an offensive were being made for Wednesday, Zelensky declared it a “Unity Day”, urging Ukrainians to take to the streets in peaceful demonstrations of solidarity.
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