---
title: "Video: Kaja Kallas: We haven’t seen any real de-escalation in Ukraine yet"
id: "58777"
type: "post"
slug: "video-kaja-kallas-we-havent-seen-any-real-de-escalation-in-ukraine-yet"
published_at: "2022-02-15T22:59:08+00:00"
modified_at: "2022-02-16T00:34:08+00:00"
url: "https://estonianworld.com/security/video-kaja-kallas-we-havent-seen-any-real-de-escalation-in-ukraine-yet/"
markdown_url: "https://estonianworld.com/security/video-kaja-kallas-we-havent-seen-any-real-de-escalation-in-ukraine-yet.md"
excerpt: "As the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has announced his country would “partially pull back troops” from the Ukrainian border, the Estonian prime minister, Kaja Kallas, […]"
taxonomy_category:
  - "Security"
  - "Videos"
publisher: "Estonian World"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Sten Hankewitz"
author_url: "https://estonianworld.com/author/stenhankewitz/"
---

# Video: Kaja Kallas: We haven’t seen any real de-escalation in Ukraine yet

![Members of the 56th Guards Air Assault Brigade of the Russian Airborne Forces. Photo: mil.ru.](https://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/FinalCheck2018-13-1024x683.jpg)

Members of the 56th Guards Air Assault Brigade of the Russian Airborne Forces. Photo: mil.ru.

By  [Sten Hankewitz](https://estonianworld.com/author/stenhankewitz/)
  ·  February 15, 2022  · [Security](https://estonianworld.com/category/security/)
, [Videos](https://estonianworld.com/category/videos/)
 · 2 minutes of reading

### As the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has announced his country would “partially pull back troops” from the Ukrainian border, the Estonian prime minister, Kaja Kallas, remains sceptical and said in an interview with the CNN that we haven’t seen any real de-escalation yet.

“Well, we believe it when we see it, but we don’t see it yet,” Kallas said of the supposed Russian pullback. “Russia has done this military buildup around Ukraine already [for] months. They had the military exercise called ‘Zapad’. Zapad means the West in Russian and they actually exercised how to attack the West.”

“It has been going on for months, so nothing happens in a few days or a few hours. And we haven’t seen any real de-escalation yet,” she told the CNN.

Putin on 15 February said Russia had decided “to partially pull back troops” from the Ukrainian border and the Russian defence ministry said some forces bordering Ukraine were being sent back to their garrisons. Russia has reportedly mobilised over 100,000 troops to the Ukrainian border and Putin has tasked his diplomats with securing US and NATO agreement to his [demands for a new security order in the Eastern and Central Europe](https://estonianworld.com/security/moscow-demands-no-nato-troops-in-estonia-without-russias-explicit-permission/)
.

The US president, Joe Biden, said on 15 February that American officials had not verified Russia’s claim that it was pulling some troops back from Ukraine’s border, saying that Russian forces remain “very much in a threatening position” and that “an invasion remains distinctly possible”.

*Read also: [Estonia’s PM: everyone must be prepared for a possible war in Ukraine](https://estonianworld.com/security/estonias-pm-everyone-must-be-prepared-for-a-possible-war-in-ukraine/)*,*[Estonia recommends avoiding travelling to Ukraine, allocates money for Ukraine’s assistance](https://estonianworld.com/security/estonia-recommends-avoiding-travelling-to-ukraine-allocates-money-for-ukraines-assistance/)
 and [Estonia and the Baltic states to help Ukraine with missiles](https://estonianworld.com/security/estonia-and-the-baltic-states-to-help-ukraine-with-missiles/)*.

## About The Author

![Avatar photo](https://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/local-avatars/15/1707599474-bpfull-100x100.jpg)

[Sten Hankewitz](https://estonianworld.com/author/stenhankewitz/)
Sten Hankewitz is a lifelong journalist and the Executive Editor at Estonian World. Having lived in Estonia, Spain, the UK and all around the US, he now resides in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He loves to write and besides working at Estonian World, he [writes books](https://estonianworld.com/culture/the-grand-illusion-estonian-worlds-sten-hankewitz-publishes-a-novel-about-growing-up-in-the-soviet-union/)
 and contributes to other outlets. He has strong convictions and shows them unashamedly. You can follow Sten on [Threads](https://www.threads.net/@stenhankewitz)
, [X](https://twitter.com/stenhankewitz)
 and [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/shankewitz/)
. You can also [email him](mailto:sten@estonianworld.com)
.