The Ukrainian general staff declared on Wednesday night: “The so-called ‘troop withdrawal’ is probably a rotation of individual units aimed at deceiving the military leadership of the Ukrainian armed forces”. The US Department of Defense warned of a new Russian military offensive.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of “positive” signals from Moscow on Tuesday, but assured that Ukraine would continue fighting for the time being. After the three-hour talks in Istanbul on Tuesday, Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said that “in order to strengthen confidence”, the decision had been made to “radically” reduce Russia’s military activities near Kyiv and the city of Chernihiv to the north. The Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinski spoke of a “significant discussion” in Istanbul. The Ukrainian proposals would now be presented to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin.
Video: Russia expert: No breakthrough in Istanbul
The Ukrainian side had proposed an “international agreement” to guarantee Ukraine’s security. Several countries should be the guarantors as signatory states, explained the Ukrainian chief negotiator David Arachamia, referring to Article 5 of NATO. The Confederation Case article states that an attack on a defending alliance country counts as an attack on all allies.
According to this, the USA, China, France and Great Britain as permanent UN Security Council members as well as Turkey, Germany, Poland and Israel are possible guarantee states for Kyiv.
The negotiations in Istanbul, which were actually scheduled for Wednesday, have ended. According to Russian information, the talks are to be continued via video link.
Video: Analysis of the Ukraine negotiations
“The Russian army still has great potential to continue the attacks on our state,” said Zelenskyy in a video message on Tuesday evening. That is why Ukraine will not reduce its defense efforts. Nor should there be any lifting of sanctions against Russia. This “can only be considered when the war is over and we get back what is ours”.
The US Department of Defense was highly skeptical. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said only a “small number” of Russian soldiers appeared to be leaving Kyiv so far. This is not a “retreat” but a “repositioning” of the troops. Russian forces have “failed” in their attempt to take Kyiv and are in defensive positions in the face of Ukrainian counterattacks. Russia could continue to fire missiles at Kyiv from afar, Kirby warned. “The threat to Kyiv is not over,” Kirby said.
Biden also reacted cautiously
US President Joe Biden also reacted cautiously to the Russian announcement that it would significantly reduce hostilities in northern Ukraine. Biden said in the White House that he did not want to evaluate the statements until he saw “the actions” of the Russian armed forces. “We will see if they implement what they propose.” Until there is an actual change, the pressure on Moscow with “tough sanctions” will continue and the Ukrainian military will continue to be supported, Biden said.
The British Ministry of Defense called it “very likely that Russia is trying to shift its strike force from the north to the (separatist) regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in the east” on Twitter. Britain plans to hold a donors’ conference on Thursday to supply more arms to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, fighting in Ukraine continued. According to Ukrainian sources, twelve people were killed and 33 others injured in a Russian attack on the regional administration in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. The Russian armed forces also shelled the Starokostiantyniv military airport in western Ukraine and, according to Ukrainian sources, completely destroyed the fuel stores there.
Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, called for the withdrawal of all Russian troops as a basis for talks with Moscow. At “Bild” Klitschko says: “We can talk about normalization when every Russian soldier is out of our country.” The ex-world boxing champion also said that the Ukrainian soldiers gave “a good response” to the Russian attacks and “completely ruined the myth of the strongest army in the world”. “The Russians weren’t surprised, they were shocked because nobody expected the Ukrainian army to be able to give a good answer to the aggressor.”
Source: Nachrichten
