Russia still building up troops, adds 7,000 near Ukraine_US

The United States and NATO have said Russia is still building up troops around Ukraine despite Moscow’s insistence it was pulling back, questioning President Vladimir Putin’s stated desire to negotiate a solution to the crisis.

The United States rejected Moscow’s claim that it has started withdrawing troops from the region.

Senior US administration officials told reporters on Wednesday they had confirmed that in the last several days, Russia has increased its troop presence along the Ukraine border by as many as 7,000 troops.

Russia’s defence ministry announced Tuesday its forces – part of a huge build-up that has been accompanied by demands to the West for sweeping security guarantees – were pulling back after exercises in southern and western military districts near Ukraine.

It published a video that it said showed tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and self-propelled artillery units leaving the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014.

But US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said key Russian units had arrived as recently as Wednesday, moving towards the Ukraine border, not away from it.

“There’s what Russia says. And then there’s what Russia does. And we haven’t seen any pullback of its forces,” Blinken said in an interview on MSNBC. “We continue to see critical units moving toward the border, not away from the border.”

They did not provide evidence, but said the information is “fairly authoritative.”

US also warned against what they call false claims by Russia, saying the country could “launch a false pretext at any moment to justify an invasion of Ukraine.”

The officials said there had been an increase in false claims by the Russians in the past few days. These include reports that Russian residents have been killed by Ukrainian forces and statements that the US and Ukraine are developing biological or chemical weapons.

In Ukraine, where people raised flags and played the national anthem to mark ‘Day of Unity’ against fears of an invasion on Wednesday, the government said a cyberattack that hit the defence ministry was the worst of its kind the country had seen. It pointed a finger at Russia, which denied involvement.

Blinkin cautioned that the reports should not be taken at face value. They stressed that the US will be prepared to deal with any situation, including a solution through diplomatic efforts.