Limited signs of de-escalation after Russia's announcement to withdraw troops | DW News

Russia said on Wednesday that it had finished military exercises in the occupied territory of Crimea and was withdrawing troops. The announcement comes a day after Moscow claimed it had returned an unspecified number of soldiers stationed close to the Ukrainian border back to their bases. Scenes shown on state television also showed military units, including tanks and artillery, crossing a bridge from Crimea — the Ukrainian peninsula occupied by Russia since 2014 — to the Russian mainland.

But observers and Western leaders remain skeptical of Russian claims and have warned that Russia could still invade its southern neighbor. US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that US intelligence has yet to verify the claims of previous withdrawals. The UK's Defense Secretary Ben Wallace reiterated the doubt over Russian claims on Wednesday morning, telling Times Radio: "We haven't seen any evidence at the moment of that withdrawal." NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned at a press conference on Wednesday that "Russia retains the ability of a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine," and expressed skepticism about the mixed messages from Russia.

Thomas Wiegold, a journalist specializing in international defense, told DW that the Russian withdrawal amounted to little because the troops in question were already garrisoned near Ukraine. "Even when those troops are withdrawn, they could be relocated pretty fast, pretty soon," Wiegold said. "We have seen that troops from Russia's Far East have been relocated to Belarus and close to Ukraine. If those troops went home a few thousand kilometers, that would make a difference." "But, if they are troops based a few hundred kilometers from Ukraine anyway, it's not really an improvement." Despite Putin's denial that any invasion is planned, Wiegold said Russia could "reserve the right to intervene" to help its citizens. Any Russian decision to recognize the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, he said, could make that prospect more likely. "If this happens, then of course, Russia considers [itself] to have the not only moral but also legal right to intervene in Ukraine. And this might change things just a bit more for the worse."

Chapters:
00:00 World leaders welcome Russia's troop withdrawal
03:45 The strategy behind the US and Russias messages
11:50 The situation at the Ukraine border
15:40 Where Russia's troops are located
18:15 Thomas Wiegold, international defense journalist
22:50 What are the nations' different positions?

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[cerfreferf]

Germany wants to build bridges with Russia
Poland: **nervous sweating**

[RyanVJones]

“Breath a sigh of relief “
Let’s not forgot the art of war. All war is based on deception. So I would hold off on that sigh for the time being.

[whattha_huh]

Russia: *makes a single comment about some troops*
War history noobs: "Peace on Earth has been achieved!"

[Mactormind]

This main anchor damn near makes me fall asleep every time hes on. And that's not a bad thing! More of him!

[scottm]

That main host has such a peaceful, relaxing voice... I'd absolutely love him to read me a book as I fall asleep. That would be nice.

Edit: he really should do audio book work, particularly kids books. It would be so fitting and I'm sure also quite profitable for him too... I'm kind of tempted to start an online petition.

Edit 2: Turns out he has a masters in creative writing. He actually may be interested in this!

[edwardkithuku]

Germany is simply protecting her interests, energy from Russia

[saimotivationalchannelm]

“Integrity, transparency and the fight against corruption have to be part of the culture. They have to be taught as fundamental values.”

[georgesos]

"Should we believe them?" Asks the "reporter"...
I thought this is what reporters are for, finding facts. Not opinions of "specialists" who get funded by the defense industry. Shame. Dw joins the warmonger parade....

[m.syassin]

This is not a neutral media that benefits the viewer, because it is all directed against Russia. You must allow the other opinion so that the viewer thinks well and understands the truth.

[cityofgardenerssg]

The US have stayed in Europe since ww2

[Danielseven-irmq]

Going from one drama to another drama.
To be continued.

[joker_g]

4:04 NO you cannot have a relief!
Telling about withdrawing and pulling just enough troops to have a video to show home isn't a good sign. It's how you build a casus belli. "We were pulling troops as you all saw, but since [reasons], Russian troops are now obliged to [war]"

[alikkhusainov]

15 min 28 sec - The DW claims that Russian fighter jets are patrolling the skies of Belarus. At the same time, a Belarusian fighter is shown, it has the flag of Belarus on the tail keel. Why are you misinforming?
Russian and Belarusian fighter jets jointly patrol the skies of Belarus. For your information, Russia and Belarus are the Union State.

[DavidCodyPeppers.]

A map of where all the NATO troops are currently located would be a useful comparison.
Peace!
\o/

[tennesseehomesteader]

Joe Biden looks like a much older version of that kid on the porch that played the banjo in Deliverance.

[drewthompson]

And America and NATO continue to ring Russia with nuclear capable missiles, minutes from Moscow. And they wonder why Putin is upset?
I remember the Americans got a little upset when the Soviet Union put nuclear missles in Cuba, much further away than 5 minutes.
There used to be a treaty about IRBMs, for years they were removed, but that wasn't good enough for the Americans.

[eulindareisinger]

🙏🙏🙏🙏😭😭😭😭 God help this world please, we don't need war, we need love and peace around the world, this is very sad and yet so scary at the same time, in the name of Jesus Christ let there be peace in the world 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏😭😭🙏😭🙏😭

[adamgrey]

💥💥💥
Why Should Ukraine let NATO Place Ballistic Missiles on Russia's Border?

[antyspi]

The point is: Russia wants a binding guarantee that Ukraine will never join NATO. They won´t settle for less. And that is exactly what neither Ukraine nor NATO want to provide. So some smaller Russian forces get relocated to nearby bases, but in the end nothing has changed.

[b.t.]

This is an old tactic. Lull your enemy into boredom, then all of the sudden there is an "unavoidable provocation" (normally false) that "demands" a "defensive" (actually offensive) strike.