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Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday warned Russia against targeting eastern Ukraine and voiced skepticism after it alleged it would aid peace talks by scaling back forces around Kyiv.
“If they somehow believe that an effort to subjugate only…the eastern or southern part of Ukraine can succeed, then once again they are profoundly fooling themselves,” he told reporters. “We’ve seen the will and determination of Ukrainians to determine their own future.”
“I think that will continue to be expressed one way or another in all parts of the country,” Blinken added.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks after viewing the “Burma’s Path To Genocide” exhibit at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, Monday, March 21, 2022.
(AP)
RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE: LIVE UPDATES
The secretary’s comments came just hours after Russian defense officials said they would move troops away from the capital city of Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv to “increase mutual trust” in its peace talks with Ukraine.
Russian authorities did not say whether these forces would be sent back home or elsewhere in Ukraine.
After five weeks of fighting, Russian ground troops have not only remained stalled across the country – including near Kyiv – but they have begun to be pushed back by Ukrainian forces outside several cities.
U.S. defense officials have warned that Moscow’s failure to make ground advances could mean it will look to re-strategize its campaign.
“I can’t tell you whether these statements reflect some reorientation of the aggression. Or whether this is a means by which Russia once again is trying to deflect and deceive people,” Blinken said in reference to when Russia claimed it would remove troops along the Ukrainian border but then instead launched an invasion last month.
“Whether it’s simply trying to reroute given the heavy losses that it has suffered – I don’t know,” he…
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