Russian forces hit the road

But Western intelligence warns Ukrainian forces not to drop their guard.

Plan B

This is the news many Ukrainians, and onlookers in the West, were hoping for. Having committed, by some estimates, around 70-75% of its forces into Ukraine, there’s evidence Russian troops can no longer sustain their current push and are being redeployed elsewhere.

When the Russian military announced it was moving to plan B of its assault, eyebrows were raised at what exactly that would translate to. A withdrawing of hostilities around Kyiv and Chernihiv? Just like the humanitarian corridors? Well, maybe there really is a first for everything.

A means to an end

The softening of military deployments around core cities has come at an opportune time. We’ve heard a similar climbdown from the Ukrainian President in the last few days, so are we approaching a breakthrough in talks?

Or are we being too optimistic here? Ukraine might be mulling over the idea of not joining NATO, but can Zelensky really count on several months of constitutional wrangling? Probably not. Russia’s armed forces might be softening their positions around some cities, but is that just to focus their assault in one area? Are we seeing the first signs of a breakthrough or are predictions really off base on this one?