Russian troops depart from Ukraine’s North, but where are they heading now?
The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence says Russian troops have now “fully withdrawn” from northern Ukraine.
It’s understood the forces have retreated into Belarus and Russia. But Ukraine intelligence suggests they will also be repositioned to Eastern Ukraine to fight in the Donbass region.
Ukraine also notes that a mass deployment from the north will likely take at least a week.
Meanwhile, Russian shelling continues in the east and south of the nation, as Russia’s forces advance further south of Ukraine, which remans under their control.
It comes as US Ambassador to the United Nations says Russia has been involved in “gross and systematic violations of human rights”.
Russia withdraws from Kyiv area
Earlier this week, the US Pentagon revealed that Kremlin forces had also departed from Kyiv, with spokesman John Kirby stating that Putin had “failed” his mission.
Moscow is looking to regroup, as Ukraine marks seven weeks of violence.
The Pentagon says that Kremlin troops continue shelling major cities as they make their withdrawal and have launched over 1,000 missiles since their invasion
According to reports, Kremlin troops claimed two weeks ago they would begin focusing on taking eastern Ukraine, leading some Ukrainian and Western officials to suspect Russia will eventually move troops who struggled to make progress outside Kyiv to the country’s east.
