Russia Withdrawing More Tanks From Ukraine Border

Moscow promotes de-escalation while mainstream media spins alarm.

QUICK FACTS:
  • The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said it was withdrawing more tanks from its border with Ukraine, Forbes reports.
  • In an official statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said that several mechanized infantry units are returning to their bases after completing “planned exercises” in the country’s western military district bordering Ukraine.
  • The ministry added that multiple tanks and armored tracked vehicles will be transported by rail over a distance of about one thousand kilometers back to their permanent deployment points, Forbes notes.
  • The statement said these armored units had gathered along the border as part of a large-scale operational training program.
UKRAINE’S PRESIDENT IS NOT WORRIED:
  • Days ago, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, criticized the mainstream media for misinterpreting his words as a prediction that Russia would attack his country on Feb 16, according to NBC News.
  • “We are told that February 16 will be the day of the attack,” Zelenskyy said in a video statement posted on Facebook, remarks the media used to alarm the public about potential war between Russia and Ukraine.
  • Zelenskyy issued a clarification of his prediction Monday, explaining that he was referring only to media reports of a possible attack.
  • The Ukrainian president’s spokesman, Sergii Nykyforov, said that Zelenskyy was merely stating what has been reported elsewhere: “The president referred to a date that was spread by the media,” the spokesman said.
  • Some observers said Zelenskyy appeared to Ukrainian speakers to have been sarcastic when discussing the possible date of an attack, NBC News notes.
  • Zelenskyy often takes a calm approach about the likelihood of a Russian invasion, which the Biden administration and Western mainstream media hype is a distinct possibility in the coming days.
BACKGROUND:
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted on peace, too, stating that Ukraine must begin talks with the two breakaway regions in the country’s war-torn east to put an end to fierce fighting that has escalated in recent days, RT News reports.
  • Following talks with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on Friday, Putin said that Kiev needs to sit down with representatives from the self-declared Donbass republics to secure a permanent ceasefire.
  • “The guarantee that peace can be restored comes with the implementation of the Minsk agreements,” the Russian president said. “All Kiev needs to do is sit down at the negotiating table with representatives of the Donbass and agree on political, military, economic and humanitarian measures to end this conflict. The sooner this happens, the better.”

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