Pentagon: Russia has begun redeploying forces in Kyiv.
Russia has begun repositioning about 20 percent of its forces around Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, the Pentagon has said.
However, a spokesman warned that Russia was expected to renew and resupply those troops for redistribution, instead of sending them home.
John Kirby said some of the Russian forces may have already been relocated to Belarus, compared to their home garrisons.
He also said that Russian contractor Wagner Group had placed about 1,000 contractors in the Donbas region of Ukraine, which Moscow has declared a priority.
The United States has seen Russia become “much more active” in the Donbas region “in recent days,” Kirby added.
“We think the Wagner group now has about 1,000 people dedicated to Donbas. “We have seen them prioritize airstrikes in the Donbas area,” Kirby was quoted saying.
Wagner’s contractors have been fighting in Donbas “for the last eight years, so this is an area where the Wagner group has experience,” Kirby added.