NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg rejects Russia’s claims of withdrawal and says they are regrouping.
“Russia has repeatedly lied about its intentions, and we can only judge them by what they actually do,” Stoltenberg said when he presented NATO’s annual report for 2021 on Thursday.
British intelligence said on Wednesday that Russia had withdrawn forces to Belarus. The Pentagon stated the same evening that Russian forces were also withdrawn from the Chernobyl area.
Stoltenberg denies that this is a real withdrawal.
“According to our intelligence, they are not withdrawing – they’re regrouping,” he said.
Zelenskyy’s comments
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also rejected reports of a voluntary Russian withdrawal on Thursday, claiming that Ukrainian forces are forcing them to retreat.
“There are other words that can be used about the alleged withdrawal of Russian forces from Kyiv and Chernihiv and the occupiers’ reduced activities in these areas. This is not a withdrawal; it is a result of what our defenders are doing – a pushback,” he said in a video speech.
Stoltenberg pointed out that tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been trained and equipped by NATO in recent years. He emphasized the importance of continued support in terms of weapons and equipment.
“NATO, or NATO allies, must continue to supply Ukraine with weapons for as long as necessary,” he said.
“They are fighting a war for freedom, democracy, and our common values,” Stoltenberg said.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
Do you have a news tip for Norway Today? We want to hear it. Get in touch at [email protected]
There are reports that Russian soldiers who dug in around Chernobyl are already showing radiation sickness. That is how longterm – permanent – dangerous a nuclear war will be, and Norway still has contamination just from Chernobyl 1986 in the Dovrefjell.
The Ukrainians are not going to be willing to come to terms and sign a fair security treaty, if we the West – NATO – keeps pumping weapons in to them, so doing so only intensifies and prolongs the war, if not forcing nuclear superpower Russia to escalate it.
Withdrawal from around Kyiv is just that, and the Russians wouldn’t try to repeat their disaster … along that single road … again, unless they take all East Ukraine which is extremely unlikely to happen, with the near encirclements of Kharkov and Sumy being broken.
Meanwhile emboldened Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine soil is sacred intimating Kyiv is unwilling to concede any of it, presumably meaning the Crimea as well as East Ukraine, so the war intensifying seems guaranteed.
As to Russian deception in war, they call it Maskirovka, but their redeployment east is too obvious to be concealed, and they are bringing in fresh troops, probably better trained and prepared.
At this point, there is no hope of peace and there is great probability of far worse, thanks to us at least as much as to the Russians.
And something else:
If Jens is starting to accuse the Russians of “lying” he is starting to lose control (under such stress) and should turn his duties over to someone else who is more under control – rational – or he could part of the cause of 100s of millions of people dying.
The Ukrainians have just attacked a fuel depot in Belgorod *Russia*, which I would expect the Russians to now use to give them the nuclear ultimatum.
Meanwhile, there is a report that Zelensky has sacked his 2 principal security chiefs calling them traitors.
Things have just gone dangerously crazy.
Civil defense/Sivillforsvars??
Kyiv seems to be denying Ukrainian responsibility for the attack.
It is possible that this was a Russian false flag attack to escalate the war to strategic weapons. Only minor injuries to 2 employees of the *civilian* fuel depot looks suspicious.
Whoever is responsible, this still escalates the war. If the West/NATO tries to claim this was a false flag … with only 2 helicopters a *3rd party* could have staged the attack … and enter the war on Ukraine’s side, our slide into nuclear holocaust will go over the brink.