The troops on the border "have not decreased, but increased".
The Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg denied the start of the withdrawal of Moscow's forces from the border with Ukraine, explaining: "We are monitoring very closely what happens. At the same time we are recording Moscow's openings to diplomatic dialogue. and we are ready in this sense. But we are still awaiting the reaction of Russia to our written replies sent on January 26th ".
After the peak of tension between the two countries, which culminated with the alarm raised by the US about an "imminent invasion" and after the reassurances from Moscow - coming after a day of frantic meetings at the top - about the "planned" end of the "exercises ”(This is the official version of the Kremlin), the West has not yet confirmed that the crisis is definitively ending. On the contrary. And Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky, speaking with the BBC, also explained: “To be honest we react to the reality we have and we still don't see any withdrawal. We have just heard about it: for now they are only declarations ".
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also on the same wavelength: "The US has not seen a significant withdrawal of Russian troops, the threat in Ukraine remains real".
(Unioneonline / lf)
