Brussels: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that the movement of Russian troops does not confirm their withdrawal.
“Russia has always moved its forces back and forth, so the movement of battle tanks does not confirm the withdrawal of Russian forces,” Mr. Stoltenberg told a news conference.
The secretary-general also claimed, “Russia has increased the number of troops near Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK had found no evidence that Russia was withdrawing its troops from the Ukrainian border as claimed by Moscow.
Earlier on Tuesday, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Russia was withdrawing some forces from the border with Ukraine and from Crimea where Russian personnel took part in military exercises. Mr. Wallace claimed the ‘latest intelligence’ is that Russian ground forces have more than 100 Battalion Strategic Groups, more than 130,000 troops, and a significant fleet of Russian amphibious landing ships, warships, and missile ships at sea. Asked whether Russia was lying about the withdrawal of troops, Mr. Wallace said it was “too early to tell.”
In the past few months, Western countries and Ukraine have reported troops gathering near the Ukrainian border in alleged preparation for an invasion of Russia.
Russia denied the allegations, saying it was not threatening anyone, and also expressed serious concern about NATO’s military activity near Russian borders, which it considers a threat to its national security. Russia has also said that Russia has the right to move troops to its national territory.
