Russia has repeatedly lied about its intentions, so now its claims about the alleged withdrawal of troops from Kyiv cannot be trusted, because, according to the intelligence, Russia is only repositioning and strengthening its troops for a new offensive in the direction of Donbas.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this at a press conference on the release of his Annual Report 2021.
“We have heard the recent statements that Russia will scale down military operations around Kyiv and in northern Ukraine. But Russia has repeatedly lied about its intentions.
So we can only judge Russia on its actions, not on its words. 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. At the same time, Russia maintains pressure on Kyiv and other cities. So we can expect additional offensive actions, bringing even more suffering,” he said.
Stoltenberg reminded the demand of all Allies that Russia must end this senseless war, withdraw all its troops, and engage in talks in good faith.
At the same time, Stoltenberg welcomed all political efforts to find a political solution to end this brutal war, including the recent talks in Turkey, which he thanked for organizing such talks.