West Skeptical Of Russia Pullout Claims, Says Moscow Still Adding Troops To Ukraine Buildup

Western countries and Kyiv have challenged Russia's claims that it has started pulling back troops from the border with Ukraine, saying Moscow continues its massive military buildup that triggered fears of an imminent invasion.

Washington also strongly condemned a Russian Duma proposal to recognize two Moscow-backed separatist territories in Ukraine's east as independent, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying such a move would "constitute a gross violation of international law."

Russia's Defense Ministry on February 16 published 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 NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance has "not seen any de-escalation on the ground" despite announcements from Russia about the pullback of troops stationed near the Ukrainian border.

"On the contrary, it appears that Russia continues the military buildup," Stoltenberg told reporters during a two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.

NATO can prove Russia's failure to withdraw with satellite images, Stoltenberg said.

"The intelligence we are sharing is actually confirmed also with open sources, with satellite imagery from commercial satellites," he told reporters.

The threat from Russia has become the "new normal in Europe," Stoltenberg added, saying that NATO is looking to establish new battle groups in Central and Southeastern Europe to further strengthen the alliance's deterrence and defense.

Russia first said some troops were pulling back on February 15, but President Joe Biden said later that day that the United States had yet to see proof of a Russian withdrawal and that Russian troops -- which he estimated at more than 150,000 -- remain “very much in a threatening position.”

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also said there was no visible sign of any Russian troop withdrawal from positions near to the Ukrainian border.

"To be honest, we react to the reality we have, and we don't see any withdrawal yet," Zelenskiy said during a visit to western Ukraine where he watched troops training with some of their new Western-supplied anti-tank weapons on a range near Rivne.

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The drills were part of a "Day of Unity" declared by Zelenskiy on February 16 to stir an outpouring of patriotism after U.S. reports had suggested the date as the potential start of a Russian invasion.

In Washington on February 16, Blinken called the move in the Duma a "gross violation of international law."

Blinken also warned that the recognition of the independence of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions, parts of which are under the control of Russia-backed separatists, could spell the end of the Minsk peace process in eastern Ukraine, where a conflict between government forces and Moscow-backed separatists has killed more than 13,200 people since April 2014.

"Kremlin approval of this appeal would amount to the Russian government’s wholesale rejection of its commitments under the Minsk agreements," Blinken said in a statement.

Officials from several countries, including the United States, have warned a Russian invasion of Ukraine may be imminent after Moscow began deploying tens of thousands of troops last November in areas on the northern, eastern, and southern border with Ukraine.

The German Foreign Ministry confirmed on on February 16 that foreign ministers from nations comprising the Group of Seven (G7) will hold an emergency meeting in Munich on February 19.

The talks will be hosted by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and take place alongside the Munich Security Conference, which runs from February 18 to February 20.

European Union leaders will also meet to discuss the crisis on February 17, Reuters reported, quoting EU officials.

"The leaders are meeting in Brussels for the Africa summit and they wanted to meet and discuss the crisis on the Ukrainian border, get updated, exchange information and views," Reuters quoted one of the EU officials as saying.

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The Kremlin has rejected it has any plan to invade its neighbor, calling the Western warnings hysterical war propaganda.

Biden reiterated that the United States and its NATO allies would be ready to hit Russia hard with sanctions if it invades Ukraine, but held out hope that diplomacy would still work.

"It remains to be seen whether there is a Russian withdrawal.... What we see is that they have increased the number of troops, and more troops are on the way," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at the start of a two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels.

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"If they really start to withdraw forces, that's something we will welcome.... They have always moved forces back and forth, so just that we see movement of forces, of battle tanks, doesn't confirm a real withdrawal," he added.

Russia is using the troop buildup as coercion to get the United States and NATO to agree to sweeping security demands, including a ban on Ukraine’s membership in the Western alliance and a rollback of NATO’s advances in Central and Eastern Europe since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Biden said the United States rejects those demands but has put several “concrete ideas” on the table, including arms control and transparency measures, to advance “the common security” needs of the West and Russia.

“We will continue our diplomatic efforts in close consultation with our allies and our partners. As long as there is hope of diplomatic resolution that prevents the use of force and avoids incredible human suffering that would follow, we will pursue it,” he said.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, TASS, AP, and Politico