The Russian military has begun to withdraw some of its troops from Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital city, indicating that the conflict in Ukraine may be shifting.
According to Pentagon press secretary John Kirby, the Russians are turning their attention from taking over Kyiv, in north-central Ukraine, to gaining control of the country’s southern and eastern regions. On March 29, Kirby briefed reporters on this apparent change in tactics.
The Russians have had their sights set on taking over the capital city since the war began on February 24, more than a month ago. The Ukrainian military, along with civilians who had stayed behind to protect Kyiv, met the troops with fierce opposition.
Over the weekend, U.S. defense sources stated that the Russian military failed in its original strategy to push on into Kyiv, Yahoo News reports. Instead, as the Ukrainian military took a more offensive approach, Russia’s forces were compelled to go on the defense. This move has given Ukrainians hope that the Russians are losing steam in their broader objectives.
However, Kirby was quick to point out on Tuesday that this is not a Russian troop retreat.
Kirby said Russia has been attacking Ukraine with the intent to “replace Ukrainian regional and national authorities and create so-called ‘People’s Republics,’ as displayed recently in Kherson Province. ”
“The rapid advance to Kyiv in the initial days of the war showed very clearly for all of us that Kyiv, [the] capital city, was a key objective for the Russians,” Kirby said. “So, we ought not be fooled … by the Kremlin’s now-recent claim that it will suddenly just reduce military attacks near Kyiv, or any reports that it’s going to withdraw all its forces.”
Olexander Lomako, secretary of the Chernihiv city council, echoed Kirby’s comment, stating that the Russian announcement turned out to be “a complete lie,” the Epoch Times reports. “At night they didn’t decrease, but vice-versa — increased the intensity of military action,” Lomako said.
Kirby’s remarks at the press briefing came immediately after in-person negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian officials concluded in Istanbul.
Russia’s defense ministry announced Tuesday it had decided to reduce the military deployment in Kyiv and nearby Chernihiv, reports Reuters.
“All the main tasks of the Russian Armed Forces in the Kiev and Chernihiv directions have been completed,” the ministry said in its statement.
However, the concept that Putin and the Kremlin were behaving in good faith was rapidly disregarded by officials on both sides of the Atlantic, MSN reports.
“We’ll see,” President Joe Biden said Tuesday in response to a question about the Russian pledge to scale back troops in the north. “I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are,” Biden told reporters at the White House.
In the following days, all eyes will be on the eastern portion of Ukraine to see if Russia will reinforce its forces there. Furthermore, Russian President Vladimir Putin is anticipated to decide by April 1 whether to increase the country’s military draft to add more soldiers to the ranks, Epoch Times reports.
Unfortunately for the Ukrainians, the Russians are still attacking the country’s southern tier. Mariupol, Ukraine’s southern port city, is practically destroyed after Russians stormed it with ferocity in recent weeks, forcing most of its population to flee.
Despite the diminished army presence around Kyiv, the city remained under threat of shellings and missile attacks as the sunset on March 29. The Pentagon has warned that the repositioning of troops in the area does not indicate that the city is safe, per the Epoch Times.
