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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has given his first reaction to reports from Russia that it is pulling some of its troops back from the border. In an exclusive commentary to BBC News, he said: “To be honest we react to the reality we have and we don’t see any withdrawal yet. We just heard about it.”
“As for the threat, I have said many times that we are calm about any threats because we remember that all this did not start yesterday. This has been happening for many years,” he adds.
Read also: The security situation in Ukraine. Not to believe rumors and not to panic (VIDEO)
Zelensky says that when troops do withdraw “everyone will see that” – not only the military or reconnaissance. “But for now it’s just statements.”
Earlier today, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg ahead of the meetings of NATO Defence Ministers in Brussels underlined Alliance saw no signs of deescalation on Ukraine-Russia border.
“And we will continue to expose Russia’s plans and actions to make it harder for them to conduct aggressive actions against Ukraine. But we really hope that Russia will engage in meaningful dialogue and choose diplomacy instead of confrontation,” NATO Secretary General underlined.
Read also: Ukraine forces in missile launch exercise near border with Russia
February 16, Russia’s defence ministry published footage of what it said were tanks, armored personnel carriers and mobile artillery leaving the Crimean peninsula — which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 — and returning to their bases.
Russia has not taken its “foot off the gas” over a potential invasion and Ukraine and the UK hasn’t “seen evidence” of a withdrawal of forces, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has warned.
Tensions between Russia-Ukraine and the West escalated over the weekend after Western media reports claimed that Moscow could launch an attack on Ukraine on February 16. Moscow recently amassed 130,000 troops near Ukraine, prompting fears that the Kremlin could be planning another military offensive against Kyiv.
Read also: Russian attack on Ukraine still possible, – Biden addresses nation on Ukraine-Russia crisis
