The Kremlin announced Thursday that the return to their barracks of troops engaged in maneuvers on the outskirts of Ukraine would take time, the West accusing Moscow of maintaining or even strengthening its military presence there.
“The Minister of Defense has indicated that certain phases of the exercises are coming to an end, and that as the soldiers will return to their home bases,” the spokesman for the defense told the press. Russian Presidency, Dmitri Peskov, emphasizing that “it is a process that is extended over time”.
He recalled that the deployment of troops — launched in December for land, air and sea military maneuvers around Ukrainian territory — had taken several weeks.
These soldiers “just can’t take off and fly all at once. It takes time for that, ”insisted Mr. Peskov, assuring that the Russian Ministry of Defense had a “calendar” for the withdrawal.
Mr. Peskov also deemed “unfounded, as always” the accusations of the White House having affirmed on Wednesday that Moscow had not withdrawn troops from the border of Ukraine but on the contrary added up to 7,000 soldiers at the gates of the country.
Westerners have been worried for weeks about the risk of an attack on Ukraine by Russia, which has massed more than 100,000 troops on that country’s borders, an explosive situation at the heart of the worst crisis with Moscow since the end of the Cold War.
Russia, which denies any belligerent desire, announced Tuesday and Wednesday the withdrawal of part of its troops.
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