Some of the Russian forces deployed for military exercises on the Ukrainian border are returning to their bases. This was reported by the Moscow Ministry of Defense quoted by TASS.

"As the combat training measures draw to a close, the troops, as always, will carry out combined marches to their permanent bases," adds Mosca.

News later confirmed by Foreign Minister Lavrov, who specified: "The withdrawal was planned, it does not depend on the Western world". Lavrov also said that the news about an imminent invasion is "media terrorism" and that the US decision to evacuate diplomats from Kiev is "an exhibitionist and meaningless hysteria".

The minister then added that the US and NATO "have given a positive response to some of the Russian security initiatives that had been rejected for a long time". "The West finally responded - his words - when it realized that we are seriously discussing the need for radical changes in the security field."

“The date of February 15, 2022 - affirmed instead the spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova - will enter history as the day of the failure of the war propaganda by the West. Shamed and annihilated without firing a shot ”. The reference is at the beginning of the withdrawal of the troops while the United States had announced an attack for tomorrow, February 16.

Putin, on the other hand, "jokes" about US alarms, says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Paskov: "There

he asks to check if they have published the exact time when the war will begin ”.

Therefore, signs of detente, also confirmed by Kiev: "Together with our Western partners we have managed to prevent any new escalation by Russia", said Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

But that's not all: there is still optimism, but he is very cautious. "There are no signs on the ground that Russia is reducing troops at the borders," said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg while acknowledging that "there are signs from Moscow that diplomacy must continue and this is a matter for cautious optimism" .

"To consider a serious de-escalation of the situation on the Russian side, NATO wants to see the withdrawal of heavy vehicles and military equipment in the areas bordering Ukraine and not just that of men," added Stoltenberg.

The same Ukrainian foreign minister, while appreciating the signs of detente, warns: “We have a rule, don't believe what you hear, believe what you see. We demand the complete withdrawal of the Russian troops, when we see it we will believe in a de-escalation ”.

Even an expert, the director of the Bellingcat investigation site Christo Grozev, says that "so far we see no evidence of a withdrawal of troops on the border with Ukraine".

"This - he adds - could change in the next few hours or days, but for the moment the aggregate data of our CITeam colleagues show that various convoys that were moving towards the Ukrainian border are still moving in the same direction".

(Unioneonline / L)



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