2000 Russian troops' movement in Georgia despite withdrawal vows in Turkey, claims Ukraine

Following Russia-Ukraine's latest rounds of negotiations in Turkey and Kremlin's vow to scale down its military operations in the war-hit nation, Kyiv claimed that units of Vladimir Putin-led forces have been 'transferred from the occupied territories of Georgia to Ukraine to recruit the armed forces of the Russian Federation'. During the negotiations in Istanbul, Putin's administration vowed to reduce its military presence around Kyiv and Chernihiv wherein the move would amount to 'de-escalation' and not a ceasefire. 

However, on March 30, senior Pentagon servicemen raised their doubts pertaining to Russia's intentions and said the latter has begun operations of moving Kremlin troops as reinforcements from Georgia. While affirming the 'repositioning' movement on the part of Putin's forces, the Pentagon stated it was not a 'real withdrawal'. 

Russia could 'deceive people and deflect attention' on the pretext of withdrawal: US

"We all should now be prepared for a major offensive against other areas of Ukraine," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said during a press briefing. Russian hints on a pullback could be an attempt by Moscow to 'deceive people and deflect attention, Kirby added. "No one should be fooled by Russia's announcement," the Pentagon warned against 'redeployment and not a withdrawal'. 

It may be noted that following Russia and Ukraine's latest dialogue in Turkey, US President Joe Biden expressed his doubts over the Kremlin's claim too. "I do not read anything into it until I see what their actions are," news agency AP quoted Joe Biden as saying. 

Ukraine's understanding of the Russian movement

According to the news agency The Kyiv Independent, the Ukrainian military forces stated that five battalion tactical groups are deployed from military bases in Russian-occupied South Ossetia and Abkhazia to further strengthen the Russian forces in its 'special military operation' in Ukraine. Reportedly, Russia consigned 2,000 troops from occupied parts of Georgia to the war-hit nation. 

General Staff: Russia transfers 2,000 troops from occupied parts of Georgia to Ukraine. According to Ukraine’s military, 5 battalion tactical groups were sent from military bases in Russian-occupied South Ossetia and Abkhazia to strengthen the Russian army attacking Ukraine.

'Ukrainians are not naive people': Volodymyr Zelenskyy 

After dialogues in Turkey, even the Ukrainian President could not vouch for Kremlin's word, he had deemed the 'so-called withdrawal of troops as a rotation of individual units which is aimed at misleading Ukrainian military'. Accusing Putin's forces of creating misconceptions about the occupiers, Zelenskyy expressed his scepticism and said, "These are indications that the Russian forces are regrouping to focus their efforts on eastern Ukraine."

"Of course, we see no reason to trust the words of certain representatives of a state that continues to fight for our (Ukraine's) destruction. Ukrainians are not naive people," Zelenskyy stated. 

On the contrary, Ukraine's military in its latest update on Wednesday stated, "Russian units suffering heavy losses have been forced to return to Belarus and Russia to reorganise and resupply." Moreover, it alerted that Putin's forces will likely continue to compensate for the losses and manoeuvre capability through missile strikes.