The Russian-Ukrainian conflict is far from over

“There is ample evidence that Russia simply moved its forces out of northern Ukraine to redeploy troops to the east and restart a war there.”White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said.

“There are some victories for Ukraine, but so far this war is far from over,” he said.

Last week, Russian media reported that the Ministry of Defense of the country decided to reduce the size of the operation in the directions of Kiev and Chernigov, and withdraw troops from some fronts.

“In order to strengthen mutual trust, create the necessary conditions for further negotiations, and achieve the ultimate goal of agreeing to sign an agreement, a decision has been taken to drastically reduce military activity in the region,” he said. Kiev and Chernigov directions”, associated Interfax quoted Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin as saying.

Mr. Fomin added that this decision by Moscow is intended to contribute to increasing hope for the current peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

In a Facebook post on April 2, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar announced that the country had regained control of the capital Kiev while peace talks were making more progress.

A day earlier in the interview with CNN On April 1, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Russian forces were gradually withdrawing from northern Ukraine.

“Russia is gradually withdrawing its forces from the north of our country. The withdrawal was slow but noticeable. In some places they were pushed back from hostilities, in other places they voluntarily left their positions.” Zelensky said, urging Ukrainians to be cautious in the north as Russian troops withdraw.

On the same day, Western media published satellite images showing Russian forces withdrawing from Antonov airport, 28 km northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kiev.

Antonov was one of the first targets Russia gained control of after the start of a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. This airport is strategically located near the capital Kiev.

However, in a recent statement, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said he was not “too optimistic” about Russia’s statement that it reduced its forces in Kiev.

“What we see is not Russia withdrawing its troops, but they are redeploying forces. We should not be too optimistic because conflicts will continue. We are also concerned about the risk of increased conflict. sudden”, Mr. Stoltenberg said on April 3.