Russian Troops Appear to Withdraw, Though the West Cautioned

Taiwan media reported on April 2 that with the conclusion of the fifth round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, Russia announced to reduce its offensive against Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and Chernihiv. Although the United States and Ukraine and other countries are skeptical, the latest satellite imagery of the US space technology company Maxar Technologies shows that the Russian troops that occupied the Antonov airport on the outskirts of Kyiv have indeed been evacuated.

On the first day of Russia’s invaded Ukraine, the Russian army launched an airstrike, occupying the Antonov airport located 28km in northwest of Kyiv, and then deploying multiple military vehicles and artillery bases, and building earth embankments to protect armaments. However, due to the strong counterattack of the Ukrainian army, the Russian army failed to advance further toward Kyiv. At present, there is no one at the airport.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy warned that Russia’s claim to reduce attacks on Kyiv and Chernihiv was in fact only a military strategy, aimed at regrouping its forces to attack the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the second-largest city Kharkiv and the city of Mariupol. The U.S. Department of Defense estimates that less than 20 percent of the Russian troops who attacked Kyiv and Chernihiv would retreat.