It was reported Wednesday morning that Russian troops were in retreat. United States officials were clear that they hadn't confirmed the information, but Ukrainian intelligence released a statement noting that there were still military troops present, but far fewer.
Julia Ioffe wrote for Puck News, "Biden's strategy is starting to look like a pretty good one. What's better than tricking the guy who threatened war into threatening peace? I do wonder, does Biden get credit if this new approach succeeds?"
But in Russia, pro-Vladimir Putin media is celebrating the president, the Daily Beast reported, describing the reporting as a "fantasy land." At the top of his Wednesday broadcast, Soloviev Live, he shouted, “Good morning Kyiv and Lviv!” Trying to imitate "Good Morning, Vietnam," but citing the two Ukraine cities.
The report noted that Tuesday, Russian "60 Minutes" host Olga Skabeeva exclaimed, “The war with Ukraine has been temporarily postponed.” On Wednesday she announced with sarcasm, “This is a sad celebration for us, the day of non-invasion of Ukraine."
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The state media has been focused on painting Putin's withdrawal as a victory.
“The boss never works according to someone else's schedule. And he doesn't do what he is told to do," the network said.
Professor of Communications Dmitry Evstafiev proclaimed: “We won this round.”
The exchange between him and host Vladimir Soloviev explained that because the West is negotiating with Russia they've won because they're being acknowledged instead of being isolated. Whether or not Putin has withdrawn troops, including in Crimea, they'll likely continue to spin it as a win.
"Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov has dubbed recent Western intelligence leaks about Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine as 'info-terrorism,'" said the report.