BREAKING: Russia Pulls Military Forces Out of Ukraine…Pentagon Kicks

BREAKING: Russia Pulls Military Forces Out of Ukraine…Pentagon Kicks

Russia has pulled its troops out of Ukraine.

Touchaheart reports that Russian and Ukrainian negotiators had their first direct talks in more than two weeks in Istanbul, Turkey, with Moscow declaring its readiness to “fundamentally reduce” military action between Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, and Chernihiv, Ukraine’s northern metropolis.

This online news outlet reports that Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin stated that the decision was made “to increase trust” in talks aimed at halting the conflict, as negotiators met face-to-face on Tuesday following many rounds of fruitless talks.

The Deputy Defence Minister said Moscow had decided to “fundamentally … cut back military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv”.

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Negotiators on the Ukrainian side indicated they would agree to a neutral status – one of Russia’s main demands – if an international agreement was reached in which other nations would act as security guarantors for Ukraine.

“We want an international mechanism of security guarantees where guarantor countries will act in a similar way to NATO’s article number five – and even more firmly,” David Arakhamia, a Ukrainian negotiator, told reporters.

The meetings at the Dolmabahce Palace on the Bosphorus strait, according to Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, marked the “most significant progress ” between the two countries since the war began.

Foreign Minister Cavusoglu stated after the three-hour talks that the discussions constituted “the most significant progress since negotiations began” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He stated that talks would not restart on Wednesday.

The Pentagon responded to Russian claims that they were pulling back military activities in Ukraine on Tuesday, March 29, 2022, by refusing to call Moscow’s actions a “withdrawal” or “retreat.”

“We believe that this is a repositioning, not a real withdrawal,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said.

Kirby added: “We’re seeing a small number now that appears to be moving away from Kyiv, this on the same day that the Russians say they’re withdrawing.”

The Pentagon’s remarks come only hours after Russia announced that military activities surrounding Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, would be reduced as peace talks resumed.

Kirby acknowledged that Russia “failed” to conquer Kyiv, but warned that the fight was far from done.

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“We think that what they probably have in mind is a repositioning to prioritize elsewhere,” Kirby said. “We all should be prepared to watch for a major offensive against other areas of Ukraine.”

Separately, Touchaheart reports that the Pentagon announced that 10 F-18 fighter jets and more than 200 US troops were being deployed to Lithuania. This comes a day after the US announced that it was sending six EA-18G Growler aircraft to Germany.