Russia Claims It Will Remove 10,000 Troops from Ukrainian Border

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Saturday that it would withdraw 10,000 troops from the border of Ukraine, where roughly 100,000 troops are massed, prompting worldwide fears of a Russian invasion. 

According to the Defense Ministry, the 10,000 troops in question have completed a month of “military drills” – the standard excuse the Russian government gives when challenged on its Ukraine military buildup – and will now return to their bases.

“A stage of combat coordination of divisions, combat crews, squads at motorized units… has been completed. More than 10,000 military servicemen… will march to their permanent deployment from the territory of the combined arms’ area of drills,” reported Russia’s state Interfax news agency.

Saturday’s announcement was accompanied by a moderation in rhetoric from Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who on Thursday praised the “generally positive” response to his security demands from Europe and the Biden administration, following weeks of increasingly belligerent threats.

The implication of Putin’s latest remarks and Saturday’s announcement of a modest troop withdrawal is that Russia wants the West to know it is serious about both its threats against Ukraine and its promise to pull back from the brink if Putin’s demands are met.

“We just directly posed the question that there should be no further NATO movement to the east. The ball is in their court, they should answer us with something,” Putin said on Thursday.

As of Friday, satellite images showed Russia was still increasing its troop deployments near Ukraine, including in Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014. Satellite photographs revealed a Crimean base that stood half-empty in October is now packed with armored fighting vehicles and tanks.

“Russia is moving its own troops around on its own territory against the backdrop of highly unfriendly actions by our opponents in NATO, the United States and various European countries who are carrying out highly unambiguous maneuvers near our borders. This forces us to take certain measures to guarantee our own security,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday when asked about the military buildup.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a conference call with U.S. lawmakers on Friday to discuss tensions with Russia.

“Now more than ever, it is not words that matter, but decisive actions. My goal is to stop the bloodshed in the east of Ukraine. It is impossible to imagine security in Europe without ending the war in Donbas,” Zelensky said, referring to Ukraine’s ongoing battle with Russia-backed separatist insurgents.

Zelensky insisted Russia should have no veto power over Ukraine’s aspiration to join NATO. Putin constantly complains about NATO forces in eastern Europe posing a threat to Russian security, and has strongly implied NATO membership for Ukraine would trigger an invasion.

“Not a single third country can have a say in Ukraine’s integration into NATO. No agreements on Ukraine without Ukraine,” Zelensky told the U.S. Congress.