Russian forces aren’t withdrawing from certain areas in Ukraine and are instead regrouping, said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on March 31.
Earlier this week, Russian Defense Ministry officials said its military forces would be scaled down around the capital Kyiv and Chernihiv to the north, which was met by skepticism by U.S. and Ukrainian officials. And last week, Moscow said it would focus its operation in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
“According to our intelligence, Russian units are not withdrawing but repositioning. Russia is trying to regroup, resupply, and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas region,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Belgium. “At the same time, Russia maintains pressure on Kyiv and other cities. So we can expect additional offensive actions, bringing even more suffering.”
Stoltenberg echoed comments made by U.S. officials that Russia isn’t negotiating with Kyiv’s government in good faith and are using the talks to merely regroup. He affirmed that NATO members will continue to provide Ukraine’s military with weaponry and other equipment.
“We have no real change in the real Russian objective. ... They continue to pursue a military outcome,” he said.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin announced on March 29 that amid Ukraine–Russia peace talks in Istanbul, the Russian military would scale down its presence near Kyiv. The Russian negotiators also claimed an “increase [in] mutual trust” has been developed after Ukraine said it wouldn’t try to join NATO.
Reporters in Kyiv said that heavy fighting occurred on the outskirts of Kyiv on March 31, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in the morning that Ukraine is seeing “a buildup of Russian forces for new strikes on the Donbas, and we are preparing for that.”
Britain’s Defense Ministry also claimed there were “significant Russian shelling and missile strikes” around Chernihiv. Russian troops were on the move but may not be withdrawing, according to the area’s governor, Viacheslav Chaus.
“Russian forces continue to hold positions to the east and west of Kyiv despite the withdrawal of a limited number of units,“ Britain’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. ”Heavy fighting will likely take place in the suburbs of the city in coming days.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry also reported new strikes on Ukrainian fuel stores late on March 30, and Ukrainian officials said there were artillery barrages in and around the northeastern city of Kharkiv over the past day.
