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Russia sent 7,000 new soldiers to the Ukrainian border on Wednesday, according to a senior U.S. government official, who stressed that Moscow talks openly about talks but privately “mobilizes for war.”
“We have confirmed that Russia has added as many as 7,000 troops to the border with Ukraine in recent days, until today,” the senior administration official said by phone with reporters.
In recent days, the United States has increased its estimate of the concentration of Russian troops near Ukraine to 150,000, compared to 100,000 a few weeks agoand insists it can attack neighboring countries “at any time”.
Russia on Thursday announced the withdrawal of some military units from the Ukrainian border, while maintaining demands on the United States and NATO, which in the first place meant a clear veto for Kiev to join the Euro-Atlantic bloc.
The announcement on the return to military bases deployed near the Ukrainian border coincides with German Chancellor Olaf Schulz visits Moscowand his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The senior official added: “The Russian government has said it will withdraw its troops from the border with Ukraine. This statement of theirs has attracted a lot of attention at home and abroad, but now we know it was wrong.”
The official also questioned statements from Russian officials about their willingness to talk. “All the indications we’ve got are that all they’ve done is openly provide dialogue and make de-escalation statements, while privately mobilizing for war,” he said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that the two sides had withdrawn shortly after several troops were withdrawn from the border with Ukraine. Both the White House and the U.S. State Department described the ads as propaganda from Moscow.
“In recent weeks, and even in recent days, we’ve seen the opposite. More Russian troops, not less, at the border,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a news conference today.