Russia says troops pull back, West seeks proof | World News

Russia on Tuesday indicated its desire to partially defuse tensions over Ukraine by announcing some of its troops were returning to their bases after completing drills, but the move was greeted with scepticism by NATO and the US, which said the claim was yet to be verified.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the Kremlin after meeting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said Russia has decided to pull back some troops. He added that he would push the West for “guarantees” and to agree that Ukraine would never be allowed to be part of NATO — adding to hopes that the invasion that seemed imminent just the previous day could yet be avoided.

The Russian defence ministry said forces from its southern and western military districts, located not far from the border with Ukraine, had begun moving back to base, but gave no details of how many troops were involved. The ministry said large-scale exercises will continue, with almost all of Russia’s military districts participating.

The US warned that the possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine remained “real”, relocated its embassy operations from Kyiv, announced greater financial support for Ukraine and continued its consultations with allies. However, US markets that plunged on fears of a Russian invasion on Monday, were trading higher early on Tuesday.

Julianne Smith, the US ambassador to NATO, said the US “will have to verify” Russia’s claims about moving towards some sort of de-escalation, while NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said there were no signs of de-escalation on the ground.

Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba too was sceptical about the Russian statement regarding the withdrawal of some forces from the Ukrainian border, writing on Twitter: “We in Ukraine have a rule: we don’t believe what we hear, we believe what we see. If a real withdrawal follows these statements, we will believe in the beginning of a real de-escalation.”

Several videos emerged on social media on Tuesday that appeared to suggest that Russia was continuing with its build-up of troops and heavy equipment in regions such as Belgorod, located less than 30km from the Ukrainian border.

The US has said Russia has amassed more than 130,000 troops near the border with Ukraine and American officials have repeatedly said an invasion could happen as early as this week. On Tuesday, India joined countries that have asked their citizens to leave Ukraine, saying Indian nationals, especially students, should “consider leaving temporarily”.

In Washington, the mood remained one of caution. Secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Monday the US would temporarily “relocate its embassy operations in Ukraine” from the capital Kyiv to Lviv “due to the dramatic acceleration in the build-up of Russian forces”. He said the step was being taken to ensure the safety of the staff, and reiterated the US appeal to Americans to leave Ukraine.

At the same time, in a sign that the shutting of its embassy wouldn’t erode support for Ukraine, Blinken announced that the US will offer a sovereign loan guarantee to Ukraine of up to $1 billion to support its economic reforms and continued engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“This offer – combined with the strong partnership between Ukraine, the IMF, other international financial institutions, the G7 and other bilateral donors – will bolster Ukraine’s ability to ensure economic stability, growth and prosperity for its people in the face of Russia’s destabilising behaviour,” he said.

State department spokesperson Ned Price said while the US believes there is still room for diplomacy, it was “erring on the side of transparency” with its allies and partners.

“We have a sufficient level of concern based on data points… it is the massive build-up we have seen continue even in recent days and recent weeks. More than 100,000 Russian troops along Ukraine’s borders, Russian troops in Belarus, essentially Russia positioning itself to be in a position should that decision be made to move quickly and aggressively against Ukraine from multiple sides. That’s what undergirds our concern,” Price said, adding what the US wants is de-escalation, both for the sake of diplomacy and dialogue and to “lower the risk of conflict, to lower the risk of this turning very bad, very quickly”.

The US also continued its consultations. On Monday, National security adviser Jake Sullivan – who had on Friday flagged the possibility of a Russian invasion during the Winter Olympic Games – briefed Congressional leaders to muster support for the administration’s approach. President Joe Biden spoke to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and reviewed “ongoing diplomatic and deterrence efforts”, steps to reinforce the “defensive posture” on NATO’s eastern flank, and the “readiness to impose severe consequences on Russia should it chose further military escalation”.

Johnson told reporters on Tuesday the latest intelligence on the Russian military build-up was “not encouraging” and there were “mixed signals” that required the West to remain “very tough and very united in particular on the economic sanctions”. “We are seeing Russian openness to conversations,” he said. “On the other hand, the intelligence that we’re seeing today is still not encouraging.”

As part of last-ditch Western diplomatic efforts, German Chancellor Scholz met Putin in Moscow and subsequently told a joint news conference that it is “urgent we have de-escalation so that we won’t have a war in Europe”.

The US approach – of releasing intelligence on the Russian build-up almost on a real-time basis as a method of deterrence – has drawn the attention of experts, who believe Washington has drawn lessons from the experience of 2014, when it was taken aback by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and cautious about sharing intelligence in public. Sullivan has emphasised the release of intelligence is aimed at preventing war – drawing a distinction from Iraq, when intelligence, later proven to be false, was used to advocate war.

Moscow has consistently rejected Washington’s contentions as an effort to whip up hysteria, claimed it has no intention of invading Ukraine, expressed concern about NATO’s eastward expansion and said the idea of “indivisible security” means security for other countries cannot happen at the cost of security for Russia.

India has so far refrained from criticising Russia’s actions along the border with Ukraine in view of the close strategic relations between New Delhi and Moscow. It has also opposed any steps that increase tension in Ukraine and called for quiet diplomacy to find a solution that leads to immediate de-escalation while taking into account the “legitimate security interests of all countries”.

The situation in Ukraine was discussed at the meeting of foreign ministers of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, on February 11, but didn’t find mention in the joint statement issued after the talks, reflecting India’s position on the matter.

Any hostilities in Ukraine could complicate matters for India in view of its close strategic ties with both Russia and the US, said Sameer Patil, senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation. “India is walking some kind of a tightrope on relations between the Russians and Americans. On the one hand, there are the alarmist voices from the US, which has asked its citizens to leave Ukraine and emptied its embassy. On the other hand, the Indian advisory is a signal to Russia that India isn’t necessarily buying into the American position,” he said.