U.S. believes Russia's pullback near Kyiv is "repositioning," not "withdrawal"

Russia's defense ministry said Tuesday it would drastically scale back military operations near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv in order to "increase mutual trust" for a potential peace deal with Ukraine — though advances on both cities had already stalled.

The latest: U.S. and British officials cast doubt on the claims. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the U.S. had seen a "small number" of Russian forces moving away from Kyiv, but it's "too early" to tell if the pullback will be significant. Russian units were reorganizing and resupplying in Russia and Belarus due to heavy losses, per a U.K. intelligence update Wednesday.

What they're saying: "We believe that this is a repositioning, not a real withdrawal, and that we all should be prepared to watch for a major offensive against other areas of Ukraine," Kirby said, pointing in particular to increased Russian activity in the eastern Donbas region.