US And NATO Say Russia Still Deploys Troops Around Ukraine, Foreign Minister Blinken: Important Unit Towards Border

Illustration of a convoy of Russian tanks. (Source: Russian Ministry of Defense)

JAKARTA - The United States and NATO said Russia was still building troops around Ukraine on Wednesday, although Moscow insisted it would withdraw, questioning President Vladimir Putin's desire to negotiate a solution to the crisis.

In Ukraine, where people wave flags and play the national anthem to show unity against fears of invasion, the government says the cyberattack that hit the defense ministry was the worst the country has ever seen.

Russia has been blamed for the cyberattack, although Moscow has vehemently denied any involvement in the attack.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said US officials were unable to say who was responsible for the cyberattack.

He also said the door remained open for diplomacy with Russia but reiterated concerns that a Russian attack could be preceded by "false flag" operations and misinformation.

Meanwhile, Russia's defense ministry said its troops, part of a large buildup accompanied by demands to the West to sweep security guarantees, were withdrawn after drills in southern and western military districts near Ukraine.

Russian tank convoy leaves the military training site. (Source: Russian Ministry of Defense)

Russia's Defense Ministry published a video it said showed tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and self-propelled artillery units leaving the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014.

However, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said key Russian units were moving towards the border, not away.

"That's what Russia said, and then that's what Russia did. And we haven't seen its troop retreat yet," Foreign Minister Blinken said in an interview on MSNBC.

"We continue to see important units moving towards the border, not away from the border," Blinken said.

Meanwhile, a senior Western intelligence official said the risk of Russian aggression against Ukraine would remain high for the rest of February, and Russia could still attack Ukraine "with basically no warning, or almost none at all".

Separately, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said troops and tanks moving back and forth did not constitute evidence of withdrawal.

"What we see is that they have increased troop numbers and more troops are on their way. So, so far, there is no de-escalation," he said before an alliance meeting in Brussels.

Stoltenberg later said NATO could prove Russia's failure to pull back its troops with satellite imagery.

In response, the Kremlin said NATO's assessment was wrong. Moscow's ambassador to Ireland said troops in western Russia would return to their normal positions in three to four weeks.

For information, Russia says it never plans to attack Ukraine but wants to set a "red line" to prevent its neighbor from joining NATO, which it sees as a threat to its own security.

The Kremlin said President Putin was interested in negotiating with the United States, which has offered discussions on arms control and confidence-building measures, while overriding a veto on future NATO membership for Ukraine.