Nearly All Russian Troops Remain On Ukraine Border Despite Claims Of Withdrawal
By Donald Standeford, Correspondent - Follow -
Date Published: 2021-05-07 2:00AM UTC
Last Modified: 2021-05-07 2:00AM UTC
UKRAINE - Despite claims by the Kremlin that they have ordered the Russian troops that had been stationed on the Ukrainian border last month to fall back to their normal stations in Russia, more Russian troops yet remain amassed on Ukraine's border than has been since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
According to Senior Defense Department officials, 80,000 Russian troops remain on the border with only a few thousand that have left the region back to their normal positions within Russia.
The Ukrainian President on the other hand, says that Russia has only withdrawn 3,500 troops of the 80,000 from the border, stating "Our intelligence tells us solely 3500 have began to withdraw from occupied Crimea. We don’t see any discount elsewhere, and we expect that the reductions are gradual and the chance stays".
The soldiers that did leave left all of their heavy military equipment and armored vehicles on the border, leading many to believe that Putin is leaving the option open to order his troops back to the border so that they could return on a moments notice.
Without the need to transport the heavy artillery and armored vehicles, the Russian troops could quickly and easily return to the border, as infantry can be relocated with far more speed and stealth.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stated, "By way of the menace, it stays. Russia has the capability on pretty quick discover to take aggressive motion if it so chooses".
