Russia says it will take time to withdraw its troops. The United States: Russia is likely to "invade" Ukraine soon.
On February 16, 2022, local time, some Russian troops returned to the station after the military exercise. People’s visual map
On February 17, local time, the Russian side said that because it takes time to end the military exercise and withdraw troops from the Russian-Ukrainian border, the accusation that the United States and NATO have "not yet withdrawn troops from the Russian-Ukrainian border" is groundless. On the same day, the United States said that Russia is likely to "invade" Ukraine in the next few days.
According to Reuters’s report on February 17th, Russian Presidential Press Secretary peskov said that the Russian Ministry of Defense has a clear time plan for the troops returning to military bases after completing military exercises. Peskov said: "Obviously, it is impossible for us to withdraw all the troops participating in the military exercise in one day, which will take time. As always, the United States and NATO have made unfounded allegations. "
Reuters reported a few days ago that a senior U.S. government official said that Russia recently deployed its military forces on the Russian-Ukrainian border again, sending about 7,000 soldiers, some of whom just arrived at the Russian-Ukrainian border on the 16th. US Secretary of State Blinken said that Russia "has different words and deeds". "The US side sees that Russian troops are continuing to travel to the Russian-Ukrainian border instead of withdrawing from the local area." Agence France-Presse reported on the 17th that US President Biden said in a speech at the White House that Russia is likely to launch an attack on Ukraine in the next few days. Biden said that there are various signs that Russia is ready to "invade" Ukraine, and the US believes that Russia is "planning some secret action" to give it an excuse to "invade".
According to a report by CNN)2 on February 17, Blinken said at the UN Security Council meeting on the Ukrainian crisis that Russia should "not ‘ Invasion ’ Ukraine "made a clear statement and used the withdrawal to support this statement. In addition, Blinken made a hypothesis by citing the information provided by American intelligence agencies, saying that Russia could create an excuse to "invade" Ukraine, then bomb Ukraine, launch cyber attacks on it, and finally send troops to occupy Ukraine. Blinken said: "I want to make it clear that I am not here today to start a war, but to stop it. The facts we have seen with our own eyes in recent months confirm the information I have provided here. "
Ukrainian President Zelensky said a few days ago that the Russian withdrawal may be just a verbal statement. Zelensky said that Uzbekistan only "heard" about the Russian withdrawal. "When the Russian army does withdraw, everyone will see it."
On February 15th, local time, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Konashenkov said that Russian and Belarusian armies had completed joint military exercises at the Ukrainian border. With the end of a series of joint military exercises, some Russian troops will return to their stations one after another. In this regard, Biden said that although the Russian withdrawal is "very good", "the US has not confirmed this news". Biden said that there are still about 150,000 Russian troops "continuing to surround Ukraine". NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said that he was cautiously optimistic about Russia’s withdrawal, but he believed that the situation in Russia and Ukraine had not been eased.