Russia announced on Tuesday that some of the military units deployed near the Ukrainian border, whose presence raised fears of an imminent military operation in the neighboring country, began to return to their barracks.
“The units of the South and West military districts, which have already completed their tasks, have started loading onto means of transport” and “will start returning to their barracks today (Tuesday),” ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying. by Russian news agencies.
The announcement, the first sign of detente by Moscow, was vague and it is not known how many soldiers it affects. Russia had deployed more than 100,000 troops to the Ukrainian border since December.
At the same time, Russia continues to carry out military exercises in Belarus, a neighbor of Ukraine, which will last until February 20.
The withdrawal of some troops was received with enthusiasm in Ukraine, whose Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, assured that his country, together with its Western allies, had “managed to prevent a new Russian escalation.”
The Russian announcement also coincides with the arrival in Moscow of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is trying to advance the diplomatic path and try to ward off the specter of an invasion and war in Eastern Europe.
On Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on Russia to withdraw its troops from the border. “The situation is particularly dangerous and might worsen at any time,” the minister warned in a statement.
“Unity Day”
On Monday, Russia had already given a small positive signal when its Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, assured that there was “a possibility” of “solving the problems” through diplomatic channels.
The path of dialogue “has not been exhausted, but neither can it last indefinitely,” added Lavrov, with a more measured tone and far from the offensive statements of recent days. The minister also described as “constructive” some US proposals.
From Washington, the authorities had warned that the Russian invasion “might happen at any time.”
The US embassy in Kiev was moved to Lviv, in the west of the country, on Monday, turning a deaf ear to the calls of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who asked not to panic.
Some media outlets suggested that the alleged Russian invasion of Ukraine might begin on Wednesday. Once once more, Zelensky ended the speculation with a dose of sarcasm.
“They tell us that February 16 will be the day of the attack. We will make it a day of unity,” he said, asking Ukrainians to hang the blue and yellow national flag on that day.
On Tuesday, British Foreign Minister Liz Truss said that Russian President Vladimir Putin still has time to prevent a war, but stressed that the time frame is “limited.”
“We might be on the verge of a war in Europe that would have serious consequences, not only for the people of Russia and Ukraine, but more generally for the security of Europe,” said the head of British diplomacy on the Sky network. News.
trenches
Russia, which annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and has since backed pro-Russian separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine, repeatedly denies any military intent.
On the contrary, it claims to feel threatened by NATO’s expansion into Eastern Europe and calls for “security guarantees” as a commitment so that Ukraine never enters the military alliance.
At the risk of angering the Kremlin, the Ukrainian president reiterated on Monday that Kiev wanted to join NATO to “ensure its security.”
Its possible accession is not yet on the Alliance’s agenda nor is there a planned timetable for dealing with this issue, but Westerners described the Russian demands as unacceptable. However, they proposed a dialogue on other issues such as the limitation of weapons.
Waiting for possible progress on the diplomatic front, in the south-east of Ukraine, close to the front line with the pro-Russian separatists, the population is preparing for the prospect of an attack.
“We dig trenches into which the Ukrainian soldiers can easily jump and defend themselves,” Mikhailo Anopa, a 15-year-old boy, told AFP as he toiled in a trench, wearing a borrowed camouflage uniform.