Biden Expresses Skepticism About Russian Troop Reductions

President Joe Biden says he isn’t “reading anything into” statements from Russian officials signaling that the Russian military is drawing back some of its troops near the Ukrainian capitol of Kyiv.

Face-to-face negotiations between Russia and Ukraine Tuesday in Turkey yielded the first steps towards peace between the two nations more than a month into the war that has left thousands dead or injured and displaced nearly four million Ukrainians.

During the talks, Russia proposed drawing down its troop presence in and around Kyiv while Ukraine proposed adopting a neutral status on the international stage.

Russian Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin told reporters that in order to further negotiations Russia had “by a large margin” reduced military activity in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions.