Russia announces partial pull-back from Ukrainian border

Some units of the Russian army are being returned to
their bases following the completion of their exercises, Russia’s Defense Ministry
announced on Feb. 15. Other units are continuing their exercises, interfax.ru
reported. Some of the ongoing exercises will continue until Feb. 20.

The announcement comes after Russian president
Vladimir Putin agreed with a Feb. 14 proposition from foreign minister Sergey
Lavrov to continue negotiating with NATO and the EU. At the same time, Lavrov
has refused to accept written answers from the EU and NATO regarding Russia’s
demands, and is now insisting on negotiating with each member state individually.

James Hydzik: The return
of at least a few units will certainly occur. However, the continued maneuvers
give ample cover for troop movements that can initiate a more limited attack.
As it seems that the Kremlin is about to recognize the so-called Luhansk and
Donetsk republics, the Minsk Agreements are about to be shredded as well,
so the negotiations after an incursion would be wrapped into a “Minsk 3”, for
lack of a better term, with the chance for the Kremlin to negotiate better
terms compared to Minsk 2.