White House communications director Kate Bedingfield told reporters that the Biden administration views Russian troops moving away from Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv as a “redeployment” rather than an outright “withdrawal.”
Bedingfield, filling in for White House press secretary Jen Psaki at Tuesday’s press briefing, echoed rhetoric from the Department of Defense outlining that the United States will “watch and see” if Russia’s actions match its words regarding its troops in Ukraine.
“No one should be fooled by Russia’s announcements,” she stated. “We believe any movement of forces from around Kyiv is a redeployment and not a withdrawal, and the world should be prepared for a major offensive against other areas of Ukraine.”
“Everyone should expect that we’re going to continue to see attacks across Ukraine,” Bedingfield continued. “Obviously, a key message that the president delivered on his trip to Europe last week was that we are in for a long slog, that our allies and partners need to remain, that our resolve needs to remain strong, and that we need to continue to execute on the strategy of inflicting significant costs on the Russian economy and, again, strengthening Ukraine on the battlefields and at the negotiating table.”
Following reports of Russian troops withdrawing from Kyiv Monday morning, the Ukrainian defense forces announced that the Russian military had redoubled efforts to break through security checkpoints surrounding the country’s capital.
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You can watch Bedingfield’s briefing in full below.
