Russia claims to have withdrawn troops from the border with Ukraine, but it could be another distraction maneuver by Putin

Russia reported this Tuesday that some troops arranged along the border with Ukraine they had begun to be withdrawn, as a sign that the diplomatic talks were working and that their intention would not be to attack the neighboring country. However, he did not announce how many units were involved or where they were deployed, so as to have a true dimension of the will of Moscow to cool down the chances of a war that could be catastrophic for the Ukrainian people and Europe.

• Russia sees a possibility of agreement with Western countries

In response to these maneuvers, the world’s stock markets began to reverse their trends and trade positively. The Ukrainian government also referred to the decision of the Kremlinalbeit with reservations. Ukraine He claimed that his joint diplomatic efforts with Western allies have so far deterred a feared Russian invasion. “We and our allies have managed to prevent Russia from escalating”, declared to the press the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba.

“We are already in the middle of February and it is seen that diplomacy continues to work”, added the Ukrainian foreign minister. The Russian Ministry of Defense he had said hours earlier that some of the more than 100,000 soldiers stationed near Ukraine’s borders were beginning to return to base after completing military exercises. But Kuleba stressed that tensions remained high along the Ukrainian borders and that Russia had yet to withdraw its remaining forces.. “We have a rule: don’t believe what you hear, believe what you see. When we see a withdrawal, we will believe in a de-escalation”, He said.

• Johnson and Biden anticipate a “protracted crisis” for Russia if it attacks Ukraine

Despite the news coming from Moscowinformation published minutes later by the British press realizes that it could really be a diversionary maneuver by Vladimir Putin and that the plans of invasion and Russian expansionism would continue their march.

According to The Sun and Mirror newspapers, Russia would have everything ready to invade and bomb Ukraine in the early hours of Wednesday, February 16. To do this, he would have prepared a massive attack against the Ukrainian commandos in Kiev and a ground incursion with 200,000 forces, across the border..

“Russia is set to invade Ukraine at 3am tomorrow (local time) with a massive missile barrage and 200,000 troops, according to US intelligence.”, point out both digital newspapers. “High-level sources said preparations to defend the beleaguered nation would continue, despite reports that Putin was withdrawing some troops from the border.”.

Ukraine surrounded

Moscow forces concentrate on the north, east and south of Ukraine in what the Kremlin insists are exercises military. If an invasion occurs, it is not clear where it would begin. Russia has created pressure points in Crimea by onon the Russian side of the border of the two countries and in Belarus to the North.

Analysts trying to figure out how Russia might invade say any attack would start with air and missile strikes.likely targeting Ukrainian military sites.

“If (Russian President Vladimir) Putin agrees to an invasion, then it will not be tanks or ships in the forefront, but rather air and missile forces. The first targets for them will be air defense systems and the missile defense force, command posts, critical infrastructure, after which the advantage of the Russian forces in the air and superiority on land and sea is guaranteed.He said Mykola Sunhurovskyimilitary analyst at the Kiev-based Razumkov Center think tank.

• US moves its embassy in Ukraine for fear of a Russian attack “this week”

In the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, where Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists have been in conflict since 2014. This could be the easiest position from which to launch an invasion, according to experts who are closely analyzing Russian moves.

Satellite images obtained by CNN they show that a large base at Yelnya, which housed Russian tanks, artillery and other armor, has been largely emptied, with equipment apparently moving much closer to the border in recent days.

Additionally, increased activity in the Kursk and Belgorod oblasts, which border northeastern Ukraine, is another problem area. “We are seeing a massive influx of vehicles and personnel into Kursk,” Konrad Muzyka, an expert in tracking military movements at Rochan Consulting, warned on Twitter.

Concerns about a large Russian troop buildup in Belarus have also grown. Both countries 10 days of joint military exercises began on Thursday.

According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, there are “an expected 30,000 combat troops, Spetsnaz special operations forces, fighter jets including SU-35s, Iskander dual-capable missiles, and S-400 air defense systems.”

Maxar has seen a large deployment of troops and equipment to the peninsula annexed in 2014: More than 550 troop tents and hundreds of vehicles have arrived north of the capital Simferopol. Maxar then identified a new deployment for the first time on Thursday near the town of Slavne on Crimea’s northwest coast, including armored vehicles.

Those new deployments were seen on the same day that several Russian warships arrived in Sevastopol, the main port of Crimea.

Any movement towards the south of Ukraine could count on the help of troops in Transnistriathe Russian-backed breakaway region of Moldova, where a buildup has also been reported.