Blinken says US âvery carefullyâ tracking Russiaâs troop pullback from Ukrainian border
Top US diplomat said earlier, there are more forces amassed on the border with Ukraine than any time since 2014
WASHINGTON, May 3. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has underlined that the US is very carefully monitoring the pullback of Russian forces from the Ukrainian border in his interview with CBS broadcast on Sunday.
The interviewer asked Blinken, That s been verified that they are pulling back? Starting now. We re watching that very, very carefully, he responded.
A part of the interview was shown on Thursday, the top US diplomat then said, There are more forces amassed on the border with Ukraine than any time since 2014, when Russia actually invaded. What we have seen in the last few days is apparently a decision to pull back some of those forces and we ve seen some of them in fact start to pull back, he added.
How Russia Will Retaliate Against the West
Moscow sees itself as under siege and has made it clear that it will respond as it believes it needs to in order to defend core Russian interests.
As relations between Russia and the west continue along a downward spiral, Moscow vows an “asymmetric” response against further “threats” and “provocations” from its adversaries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his annual state of the nation address earlier this week, against the backdrop of mounting tensions in the ongoing Donbass conflict in Ukraine and a new wave of anti-government protests over the jailing of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny.
14:00 23.04.2021
Kuleba: Withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian borders will ease tensions, but Kyiv calls on intl partners to monitor situation, take measures to deter Moscow 2 min read
Ukraine is grateful to its international partners for the decisive response to Russia s aggravation of the situation near the Ukrainian borders, which helped induce Russia to curtail military exercises, but urges not to let the guards down and continue to monitor the situation, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Shoigu s statement itself is a welcome development. If Russia really pulls back from the border with Ukraine the enormous military force it has deployed there, this will already ease tensions. But we need to remember that this step would not put an end neither to the current escalation, nor to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia in general, the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry quoted Kuleba as saying.
VLAD BOTTLES IT
Russia BACKS DOWN from Ukraine and pulls back tens of thousands of troops as Putin caves in to the West
Will Stewart
Updated: 22 Apr 2021, 20:45
Will Stewart
VLADIMIR Putin today signalled the start of a pull back of troops from the Ukraine border.
But defence minister Sergei Shoigu vowed action an “immediate reaction” if Russia faced a threat from NATO.
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Russia has ordered troops to return to their bases after a build up at the border with UkraineCredit: AP
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Troops have been carrying out military drills amid tensions with Ukraine but will return to baseCredit: AP
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Vladimir Putin has stood down troops after fears tensions with Ukraine could escalate into a full-blown warCredit: AP