US Doubtful Of Russian Claims It’s Curtailing The War In Ukraine
President Joe Biden and other American officials expressed severe caution Tuesday at indications Russia is scaling back its military operations near Kyiv, implying they were pausing to see stronger hints of de-escalation before making an assessment of Moscow’s intentions.
“We’ll see. I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are. We’ll see if they follow through what they’re suggesting,” Biden said at the White House, where officials were busy absorbing intelligence and reports from the ground that Russian troops were shifting their priority away from Ukraine’s capital toward other areas of the country.
President Biden’s don’t-trust-but-verify strategy indicates deep American skepticism at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s motives amid his monthlong invasion of Ukraine.
While the US has paid attention to movements of Russian forces away from Kyiv, there remains doubt the Russian invasion in Ukraine will cease soon.
