Russia says withdrawal of military troops will take time
Russian army tanks are loaded onto railway platforms to move back to their permanent base after drills in Russia, February 16, 2022. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
The Kremlin says that Russia’s withdrawal of forces from around Ukraine’s borders would take place over an extended period, after reports of Moscow’s drawdown drew skepticism from Kyiv’s allies.
“This is a process that will take some time,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says, after Moscow had announced two separate pullbacks following drills that raised fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“The defense ministry has reported that certain phases of the exercises are coming to an end, and as they do, military units are returning to permanent bases,” Peskov says.
He adds, however, that forces “can’t just take to the air and all fly away,” adding that on the drawdown the defense ministry “has a schedule.”
