'Seeing small rotations': Russia has added more troops along Ukraine's border, says US
Categories: FOREIGN COUNTRIES
Amid reports of Russian troops pulling back, a White House official said today that Russia had added "as many as 7,000 troops" along Ukraine's border.The White House official said Russia could begin an attack under a "false" pretext at "any moment". Ukraine President Zelensky echoed similar thoughts declaring: "We are seeing small rotations. I would not call these rotations the withdrawal of forces by Russia."Zelensky inspected drills by Ukrainian forces as tension continues at the border. Russia had announced on Wednesday that its forces which had taken part in the Crimea drills were returning to their barracks. Earlier, Putin's regime had announced some troops were pulling back after drills in Belarus.US secretary of state Antony Blinken while speaking to a US television channel said there was no pullback from Russian troops. "We continue to see critical units moving toward the border, not away from the border," Blinken added.The Biden administration has warned for months that Russia is intent on invading Ukraine. The White House had said last month that Russia may launch an attack between mid-January to mid-February. Marran warned that Russia could target "key terrain" and could start with missile bombardment. The Estonian intelligence chief said that "if Russia is successful in Ukraine" then "it would encourage it to increase pressure on the Baltics".President Biden had said on Wednesday that war with Ukraine was still a possibility just hours after Russian announced it was pulling back some troops. The US president demanded proof of Russian pullback even as over 100,000 troops are still stationed at the border with Ukraine.