Russian forces are continuing to launch attacks near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv despite claiming they would cut back on operations there “to increase trust” for peace talks with Ukraine.
“Despite the rhetoric of de-escalation, we’re still observing artillery fire and airstrikes in and around Kyiv,” a senior U.S. defense official told reporters on Thursday. ”They’re still fighting.”
PENTAGON: ‘SMALL NUMBERS’ OF RUSSIAN TROOPS LEAVING KYIV, ‘NOT A REAL WITHDRAWAL’
Russian leaders said they would limit their attacks near the capital earlier this week as delegations from both countries met in Istanbul for their first face-to-face talks in two weeks, though skepticism remained.
“That’s very nice rhetoric, but it doesn’t mean that Kyiv is under any less threat,” the official added.
Earlier this week, the Pentagon said that it had seen “small numbers” of Russian forces around Kyiv turn around, though they characterized it as a “repositioning” more than a “withdrawal.” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said it’s “in the neighborhood of 20% of what they had” around the city that have repositioned.
“Everyone should expect that we’re going to continue to see attacks across Ukraine,” White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said during a briefing earlier this week. “Obviously, a key message that the president delivered on his trip to Europe last week was that we are in for a long slog, that our allies and partners need to remain, that our resolve needs to remain strong, and that we need to continue to execute on the strategy of inflicting significant costs on the Russian economy, and again, strengthening Ukraine on the battlefields and at the negotiating table.”
This analysis comes days after Pentagon officials said Russian forces were taking defensive positions and hunkering down where they were at, roughly 10 miles away from the center of the capital.
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The Pentagon also said on Thursday that there is reason to believe Russian President Vladimir Putin has not been accurately informed of the disastrous military operation.
“The fact that he may not have all the context that he may not fully understand the degree to which his forces are failing in Ukraine, that’s a little discomforting, to be honest with you. And it’s certainly one outcome of that, that could be a less than faithful effort at negotiating some sort of settlement here,” Kirby said on Wednesday, though he also cautioned that they “don’t have access to every bit of information that he’s been given or every conversation that he’s had.”
