“How Russia will act further? According to the plan. And what will it consist of? It will be based on the real situation on the ground. Who can answer how this situation is going to develop? So far, no one,” Putin said at a joint press conference with Scholz.

“It depends not only on us,” he said, answering the question whether Russia will continue to withdraw troops after the exercises, announced on Tuesday morning.

Putin added that the situation in the Donbas is a genocide. “Human rights are massively and systematically violated, discrimination against the Russian-speaking population is fixed at the legislative level ” in Ukraine.

According to Putin, Moscow is not satisfied with the claims that the expansion of NATO at the expense of Ukraine is not on the agenda.

“As for the war in Europe, which is mentioned t in relation to the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border, the last time such a war was unleashed was by the NATO bloc against Yugoslavia,” Putin said. A major military operation with airstrikes on one of the European capitals – Belgrade. It did happen. It was not sanctioned by the UN Security Council. This is a very bad example, but it happened,” Putin added.

On Tuesday, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov announced that “combat training drills” were complete and some Russian troops are returning to their barracks.

“The units of the Southern and Western Military Districts, which have completed the tasks, have already begun loading on trains and trucks and today will begin to move to their military garrisons. Individual units will return on their own as part of military convoys,” Konashenkov said.

Analysts of the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) did not confirm this information. According to them, there have been no visible changes “on the ground” so far.

“Those remaining echelons that were on the way, both moved towards the border (and not away from it),” the CIT said. “Moreover, there are reports that more units are on their way to the border [with Ukraine], which can be additionally confirmed by videos showing trains and data from the Russian Railways database.” the CIT said.

Source: http://uawire.org/putin-refuses-to-guarantee-withdrawal-of-russian-troops-from-ukrainian-border#

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Germany expresses concern over Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine / Photo from UNIAN

Representative of the German Federal Government Ulrike Demmer has said her country was concerned over the movement of Russian troops toward the Ukrainian border.

“As you know, NATO, the EU, and many partners have recently expressed concern over the expansion of Russia’s military presence. The German government shares this concern and informed Moscow about it,” she said in German at a briefing broadcast on YouTube.

Russian troops amassed along Ukraine’s borders

On March 30, 2021, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel-General Ruslan Khomchak said Russia had deployed 28 battalion tactical groups along the state border of Ukraine and in the temporarily occupied territories. It is also said to be planning to bring up to 25 battalion tactical groups under the guise of preparing for military drills. Such actions pose a threat to Ukraine’s military security.

–The U.S. Department of Defense said it was “aware of Russian troop movements” on Ukraine’s borders and was concerned about recent escalations of Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine.

–On April 1, 2021, the Kremlin commented on the movement of Russian troops near Ukraine’s borders, saying this should not cause “any concern” to anyone.

–Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Moscow is trying to put pressure on Kyiv by amassing its military forces along the Russian-Ukrainian border. At the same time, he assures Ukraine is ready to counter any provocation and continues to defend in the negotiations the position of maintaining a more effective ceasefire in Donbas.

–The Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate does not rule out that enemy forces may try to go for an incursion and deploy their troops deeper into the territory of Ukraine. According to intelligence reports, Russia is building up its military presence near the Ukrainian borders and is completing the preparation of a set of measures aimed at forcing Ukraine into a military response.

–On April 1, 2021, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Taran had a phone call on the initiative of the American side. Austin condemned the recent aggressive and provocative actions by Russia in eastern Ukraine and assured his counterpart of U.S. readiness to support Ukraine in the context of Russia’s ongoing aggression in Donbas and Crimea.

–In turn, the Kremlin vowed “additional measures” if the U.S. troops are deployed on the territory of Ukraine.

–U.S. President Joe Biden in his first call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 2, 2021, affirmed the U.S. “unwavering support” for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity “in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression” in Donbas and Crimea.

Translation: Kanaryan Lyudmila

Source: https://www.unian.info/politics/escalation-in-donbas-germany-expresses-concern-over-russia-s-military-buildup-near-ukraine-11380162.html

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