(NewsNation) — Russian claims of scaling back forces in war-torn Ukraine have been met with skepticism. The skeptics include retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Richard Newton.
“The Russians aren’t withdrawing—they’re repositioning,” he said during an appearance on “Morning in America”.
“This is again, another chapter of the Russian playbook to deflect and deceive,” Newton said. “They’re really trying to, again, take the narrative if they possibly can to announce that they really are withdrawing their forces, putting them in the east, and so forth.”
Newton said Russian troops will likely focus on the Donbas region of Ukraine in their quest to take the whole country.
“The ultimate goal is to topple Ukraine. The ultimate goal is to remove (President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy,” he said.
This is partly why he thinks NATO, the European Union, G7 and other free nations need to provide more military support to Ukraine, such as aircraft weapons and MiG-29 fighter jets.
“This is when we need to really stiffen our resolve, provide as much support as we possibly can for Ukraine’s fight so that they will win, rather than being in a position of appeasement through diplomatic talks,” Newton said.
Poland has offered to give its MiG-29 fighter jets to the U.S. so they can be passed to Ukraine. But the U.S. rejected this plan, with Pentagon press secretary John Kirby saying in a statement that the prospect of jets departing from a U.S./NATO base in Germany flying into airspace contested with Russia is concerning.
Newton said right now, Russia is just trying to regroup, because they’re not in a negotiated position of strength, but one of “somewhat weakness.”
Although momentum has been shifting in Ukraine’s favor, it doesn’t mean the country can withstand the war lasting for so long, he added, saying, “It’s going to be a bloody chess match for the next several months.”