Russia’s claim that it is scaling back its operations around Kyiv should be treated with caution, Britain said today.
Moscow has announced it will “drastically reduce” military combat operations in two key areas of Ukraine “to boost mutual trust” in peace talks.
However, the decision to scale back operations around the capital Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv are being treated with skepticism.
Deputy prime minister Dominic Raab said he did not think we could trust what was coming out of Putin’s “war machine”.
He told Sky News: “We judge the Russian military machine by its actions, not its words. There is obviously scepticism that it will regroup to attack again.
“The door to diplomacy will always be left ajar but I don’t think you can trust what is coming out of the mouth of Putin’s war machine.”
Raab also said reports that Russia was planning to deploy mercenaries from the Wagner Group and from Syria could be a sign of Russian weakness.
“It is a worrying sign but it also probably shows you how dependent they have become on other fighters because of the weakness and fragility of the professional forces – and they are reliant on conscripts – which we are starting to see play out a bit in Ukraine,” he said.
“Certainly the Russian war machine, which had a pretty fearsome reputation, has been found to stutter and stumble, in at least the early stages of this campaign.”
On Tuesday, Russia’s deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin said the country would “radically, by several times reduce the military activity” around Kyiv and Chernihiv.
He said there had been progress on “the neutrality and non-nuclear status” of Ukraine, which are two key concerns for Moscow.
The pledge was also met with caution by Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy who said: “Ukrainians are not naive people.”
He added: “We can say that the signals...are positive, but those signals do not drown out the explosions or Russian shells.”
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said people should be “prepared to watch for a major offensive against other areas of Ukraine”.
The UK Defence Ministry also warned that Russia will likely “seek to divert combat power from the north to their offensive in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east”.
The MoD said this morning: “Russian units suffering heavy losses have been forced to return to Belarus and Russia to reorganise and resupply.
“Such activity is placing further pressure on Russia’s already strained logistics and demonstrates the difficulties Russia is having reorganising its units in forward areas within Ukraine.
“Russia will likely continue to compensate for its reduced ground manoeuvre capability through mass artillery and missile strikes.
“Russia’s stated focus on an offensive in Donetsk and Luhansk is likely a tacit admission that it is struggling to sustain more than one significant axis of advance.”