US Calls Claims Withdrawing Russian Troops From Ukraine Border False

A convoy of Russian tanks during a military exercise near the Ukrainian border. (Source: Russian Ministry of Defense/Evgeny Polovodov/Dmitry Gutov)

JAKARTA - The United States does not believe Russia's claims to withdraw troops from Ukraine's borders, suspecting Moscow has increased its presence by 7,000 troops, a senior official in President Biden's administration said Wednesday.

"So yesterday, the Russian government said it was withdrawing troops from the border with Ukraine. But we now know it's fake," the official told reporters without providing details or providing evidence.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Biden Administration confirmed "Russia has increased its troop presence along the Ukrainian border by 7,000 troops" with many of them arriving as recently as Wednesday.

The senior administration official also said Russia publicly claimed to be engaged in diplomacy and made claims of "de-escalation" while "privately mobilizing for war."

Earlier, Russia's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday it had withdrawn its troops, following drills near Ukraine and published a video it said showed troops leaving the Crimean peninsula.

But US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview on MSNBC on Wednesday that "critical units" were moving toward the border.

To note, on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden said the United States estimated about 150,000 Russian troops had surrounded Ukraine, up from an earlier estimate of around 100,000.

A senior administration official said the United States continues to receive information indicating Russia could "launch false pretexts at any time" to justify an invasion of Ukraine.

The official pointed to an increase in false claims and online disinformation by Russia in recent days.