On Monday, Russia announced a local ceasefire in several Ukrainian cities, starting from 07:00 GMT, to allow the evacuation of civilians through humanitarian corridors.
The cell of the Russian Defense Ministry in charge of humanitarian operations in Ukraine said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that “the Russian Federation announces a ceasefire as of 10:00 Moscow time (0700 GMT) on March 8” with the aim of evacuating civilians from Kyiv. , as well as from the cities of Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernigiev, and Mariupol.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also announced that he would not send recruits or reservists to fight in Ukraine, stressing that the attack was carried out by “professional military personnel” who were achieving “the specified goals.”
In a televised speech on the occasion of March 8, International Women’s Day, Putin said, “I want to assure that conscripts do not and will not take part in combat. Nor will reservists be called up.”
To this, the US Department of Defense, “Pentagon,” announced the deployment of 500 additional soldiers to Europe to enhance the security of NATO, noting that Russia has almost completely inserted in Ukraine the forces that it has mobilized in recent months at the border.
Since the beginning of the year, Washington has deployed 12,000 soldiers in Europe, in addition to those who are normally stationed on the continent.
A senior Pentagon official said in a statement that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered over the weekend to deploy “500 military personnel in several parts of Europe to reinforce the forces deployed there.”
He explained that “the additional forces will be empowered to respond to the current security environment in light of the renewed Russian aggression against Ukraine, and to enhance deterrence and defense capabilities of NATO, especially in its eastern flank.”
And the US Department of Defense, the Pentagon, confirmed earlier that “Ukrainian forces still maintain their capabilities, and the airspace is still disputed,” and that “Ukrainian forces inflicted significant damage to Russian military mechanisms.”
She added that the Russians are still receiving “solid resistance” and logistical challenges in the north of Ukraine. “We believe that the Russians have problems with morale, problems with supplies, fuel and food,” she added.
“With the Russians continuing to feel frustrated and not making significant progress except for some progress in the south, the Russians are relying more on targeting residential communities from afar, causing greater civilian and human losses, in compensation for their lack of gains on the ground,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.