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Russia said Wednesday it was withdrawing some troops stationed near the border with Ukraine, but NATO said it was not seeing any signs of a withdrawal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Russia has amassed about 150,000 troops in eastern, northern and southern Ukraine, raising concerns that it is planning an attack.<\/p>\n
Moscow denies having any such plan and this week said it was withdrawing some forces and weapons, though it gave few details.<\/p>\n
These claims have been met with skepticism by the US and its allies – although they seemed to lower the temperature after weeks of escalating East-West tensions.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense released a video showing a train loaded with armored vehicles moving across a bridge away from Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.<\/p>\n
A day earlier, the ministry reported the start of a troop withdrawal following military exercises near Ukraine.<\/p>\n
But NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the military organization sees no sign that Moscow is lowering the level of its troops in and around Ukraine.<\/p>\n
“At the moment, we have not seen any withdrawal of Russian forces,” he said, before chairing a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.<\/p>\n
“If they really start to draw strength, that is something we will welcome, but it remains to be seen,” he said.<\/p>\n
Countries in the alliance have also expressed doubts, as have leaders in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Caught between Russia and the West, Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly sought to create calm but also strength during the crisis.<\/p>\n
In a show of determination, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared Wednesday (February 16th) a “day of national unity.” To mark the day, demonstrators unfurled a national flag at a sports arena in Kiev.<\/p>\n
“We are united by the desire to live happily in peace. “We can only protect our home if we stay united,” Zelenskyy said in a speech to the nation.<\/p>\n
The Russian military has not given the number of troops or weapons that have been withdrawn.<\/p>\n
And while Russian President Vladimir Putin has signaled that he wants a diplomatic route out of the crisis, he has not pledged a full withdrawal.<\/p>\n
Putin has stressed that he does not want war and will rely on negotiations to achieve his main goal of keeping Ukraine away from NATO membership.<\/p>\n
President Joe Biden said Tuesday that US officials had not verified Russia’s claim, and British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace also said it was “too early to say” whether the withdrawal was real.<\/p>\n
“I think what we have not seen is evidence of the withdrawal that has been claimed by the Kremlin,” Wallace told Sky News.<\/p>\n
Russia has denied any plans to invade and has mocked Western warnings of imminent invasion as “paranoia” and “madness.”<\/p>\n
Asked by the German daily Welt if Russia would attack on Wednesday, Russian Ambassador to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov said: “Wars in Europe rarely start on Wednesday.”<\/p>\n
“There will be no escalation either next week, next week or next month,” he said.<\/p>\n
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