Russia Repositioning 20% Of Its Forces Around Kyiv

Russia has started to reposition under 20% of the forces arrayed around Ukraine's capital Kyiv, the Pentagon said on Wednesday (Thursday, Mar. 31, 2022), but cautioned Russia was expected to refit and resupply them for redeployment into Ukraine and not bring the forces home, Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Ukraine may be outnumbered and outgunned by Russia, but against all odds, the former seems to have the upper hand against its would-be conquerors.

Russian forces bombarded the outskirts of the capital Kyiv and the besieged city of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine on Wednesday, a day after Russia said it would scale down military operations in both cities in what the West dismissed as a ploy to regroup by invaders suffering heavy losses.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said some of the Russian forces may have already moved into Belarus, as opposed to their home garrisons. "They are leaving Kyiv and heading more towards the north, away from the city," Kirby told a news conference.

Troops leaving the area included some of those around Chernihiv along with those fighting near the town of Sumy, Kirby said. He added that Kyiv was still being attacked by air and ground strikes.

A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said some Russian troops were also leaving from near the Chernobyl power station. It was not clear if the troops leaving were departing the exclusion zone around the plant or the surrounding towns.

Military analysts say Russia has reframed its war goals in Ukraine in a way that may make it easier for Moscow to claim a face-saving victory despite a woeful campaign in which his army has suffered humiliating setbacks.

Kirby added that Russian contractor Wagner Group had deployed about 1,000 personnel into Ukraine's Donbas region, which Moscow has declared a priority. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said in the past that Wagner and other private groups considered as mercenaries neither represent the Russian state nor are paid by it, though he says they have a right to operate provided they do not break Russian law.

The European Union (EU) imposed sanctions on Wagner last year, accusing it of fueling violence, looting natural resources, and destabilizing countries around the world.

The Wagner Group was also decimated by US forces working with Kurdish fighters several years ago when it attempted to attack a US base in Syria but was tracked 20 km away and pounded with artillery and blasted by A-10 Warthog warplanes as well as drones, killing more than 300 Russian mercenaries.

Putin did not acknowledge Wagner’s attempt to hit US forces, and the few survivors claimed they were sent to the lion’s den just to test the readiness of US forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

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