Thousands of Russian troops withdrawing from Ukraine border: report

Authored by thehill.com and submitted by wisemachine

Thousands of Russian troops are reportedly withdrawing from the Ukrainian border after conducting drills for roughly a month.

Reuters reported on Saturday that more than 10,000 Russian troops were leaving a number of regions near Ukraine — including Crimea, Rostov and Kuban — and returning to permanent bases.

The news service pointed to reporting from the Interfax news agency, which cited the Russian military.

“A stage of combat coordination of divisions, combat crews, squads at motorized units... has been completed. More than 10,000 military servicemen... will march to their permanent deployment from the territory of the combined arms' area of drills,” the Russian army is quoted as saying in the Interfax report, according to Reuters.

Russia had amassed tens of thousands of troops in regions north, east and south of Ukraine, Reuters noted, which alarmed Kyiv and Western nations that Moscow may be planning an attack.

U.S. intelligence earlier this year revealed that Russia was planning a military offensive against Ukraine as early as next year that would involve the deployment of 175,000 troops near the border.

The intelligence document, which was obtained by The Washington Post, included satellite photos of the military buildup.

Russia, however, has denied having any plans of that kind. Instead, Moscow has called on NATO to promise that it will not extend the alliance in the direction of Russia’s borders, according to Reuters.

Russia has reportedly said that Ukraine’s increased association with NATO is presenting a threat to Moscow.

The Kremlin has also said it has the authority to deploy troops within its borders as it sees necessary, according to Reuters.

Reports of Russian troops withdrawing from the Ukrainian border come more than two weeks after President Biden Joe BidenThe 10 races that will decide the Senate majority Bidens: Desmond Tutu's legacy will 'echo throughout the ages' Media love bad news; you don't have to MORE and Russian President Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich PutinPutin to ponder options if West fails to meet demands regarding Ukraine Ukraine president, US lawmakers huddle amid tensions with Russia Thousands of Russian troops withdrawing from Ukraine border: report MORE spoke by phone for more than two hours.

The White House said Biden during the conversation warned Putin against invading Ukraine, cautioning that Moscow would suffer economic consequences if it mobilized an offensive against Ukraine.

Biden also reportedly presented the option of de-escalating the situation through diplomatic channels with the U.S. and other European nations.

namso96 on December 25th, 2021 at 19:43 UTC »

Looks like the extra troops in the south are withdrawing after their exercise. The more concerning troops for Ukraine are the ones in the east of the country. Right now there are no signs that those are withdrawing. So I remain skeptical, the situation is still too tense to be relieved.

Environmental-Cold24 on December 25th, 2021 at 19:39 UTC »

As I said in a different thread Im not sure what to make of this. If true can be explained any way. But lets see if it leads to diplomatic moves and if the satellite images confirm if they really left.

wisemachine on December 25th, 2021 at 19:28 UTC »

Submission Statement

After a month of drills, thousands of Russian troops are leaving regions near Ukraine including Crimea, Rostov, and Kuban to return to permanent military bases This comes after a massive 175,000 troop build up near the border, a phone call between Biden and Putin, and a ceasefire in the Eastern Ukrainian region On face value, it seems Putin is backing down from his bluff of a full invasion. This could be interpreted as a continuation of a trend where Putin tries to take bits of Ukraine at a time and make it a constant issue to the West, or it could also be an attempt to lure Ukraine into a false sense of security. Regardless, Putin's end goal should still be autonomy in the Eastern regions of Ukraine and the reduction of NATO influence in Eastern Europe.