US Doubts Russia's Pledge to Scale Back Assault on Kyiv as Strikes Continue
Summary from the AllSides News Team
As Russia missile strikes reportedly continue near Kyiv, U.S. officials are skeptical of Russia's promise to scale back military operations near the Ukrainian capital.
At peace talks on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought security guarantees and pledged neutrality in an effort to end Russia's invasion. Russia has labeled the first stage of its operation complete, and announced earlier this week that forces would shift focus on separatist-backed regions in eastern Ukraine. Some reports highlight Russian troops apparently retreating and reorganizing, while others focus on reports of more Russian strikes near Kyiv despite the Kremlin's pledge to pull back.
A Pentagon spokesperson said Russia's troop movements near Kyiv appeared to be a repositioning rather than "a real withdrawal," and some Ukrainian leaders have warned that Russia's pledge to scale back operations may be meant to mislead. President Joe Biden said he doesn't "read anything into" Russia's claims of scaling back "until I see what their actions are."
Reports across the political spectrum framed a true pullback by Russian forces as unlikely, and implied that Russia could be gearing up for another major assault.
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"We'll see. I don't read anything into it until I see what their actions are. We'll see if they follow through what they're suggesting," Biden said at the White House, where officials were busy digesting intelligence and reports from the ground that Russian troops were moving their focus away from Ukraine's capital toward other areas of...
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