Russia: Expert on key sign of Putin 'getting back to normal'

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The United States and NATO said Russia was still building up troops around Ukraine on Wednesday despite Moscow’s insistence it was pulling back, questioning President Vladimir Putin’s stated desire to negotiate a solution to the crisis. In Ukraine, where people raised flags and played the national anthem to show unity against fears of an invasion, the government said a cyberattack that hit the defence ministry was the worst of its kind that the country had seen. It pointed the finger towards Russia, which denied involvement. Professor Michael Clarke from King’s College London has since pointed out the clear sign for when Putin is ready to stand down.

Speaking to Sky News, said: “In terms of military options, the idea of seizing Kiev in a sudden strike moving out of the Donbas region towards Crimea and bringing a land corridor into existence, even a push from separatists in Moldova to threaten Odesa.

“All of these things are still militarily possible.

“Now they may not be on the table politically but as of today, they are still available in military terms.

“We still don’t know if President Putin dials down the military preparations how much of this arrangement will actually be dismantled.

“One of the key questions for Western analysts and for defence ministries is, what is happening to Russian big forces?

“The 41st combined arms army and the 6th combined arms army all came in from the east.

“When we see those forces going home then we will know President Putin has decided to get back to something normal but not yet.”

The Russian defence ministry said its forces were pulling back after exercises in southern and western military districts near Ukraine – part of a huge build-up that was accompanied by demands for sweeping security guarantees from Washington and NATO.

A senior Western intelligence official said the risk of Russian aggression against Ukraine would remain high for the rest of February and Russia could still attack Ukraine “with essentially no, or little-to-no, warning”.

Russia: US 'hasn't seen a pull back' from Putin says Blinken

It published video that it said showed tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and self-propelled artillery units leaving the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014.

But US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said key Russian units were moving towards the border, not away.

“There’s what Russia says. And then there’s what Russia does. And we haven’t seen any pullback of its forces,” Blinken said in an interview on MSNBC. “We continue to see critical units moving toward the border, not away from the border.”

A senior Western intelligence official said the risk of Russian aggression against Ukraine would remain high for the rest of February and Russia could still attack Ukraine “with essentially no, or little-to-no, warning”.

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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said moving troops and tanks back and forth did not amount to proof of a pullout.

“We have not seen any withdrawal of Russian forces. And of course, that contradicts the message of diplomatic efforts,” Stoltenberg said before a meeting of the alliance in Brussels.

“What we see is that they have increased the number of troops and more troops are on their way. So, so far, no de-escalation.”

The Kremlin said NATO’s assessment was wrong. Moscow’s ambassador to Ireland said forces in western Russia would be back to their normal positions within three to four weeks.

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