Russia announces withdrawal of some troops near Ukraine

Russia’s defense ministry said on Tuesday that it is pulling back some troops from the border with Ukraine, according to multiple reports. 

The reports indicated that the Russian troops were returning to their bases after completing exercises near Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials, however, remain skeptical. 

“Russia constantly makes various statements,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, according to The Associated Press. “That’s why we have the rule: We won’t believe when we hear, we’ll believe when we see. When we see troops pulling out, we’ll believe in de-escalation.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also said at a press conference in Brussels that officials have not seen “any de-escalation on the ground” or any “signs of reduced Russian military presence on the borders of Ukraine,” adding that the alliance will continue “to follow closely what Russia is doing.” 

“The signs coming from Moscow about willingness to engage with diplomatic efforts, that gives some reason for cautious optimism,” Stoltenberg said.

Russia did not specify how many of the more than 130,000 troops it has amassed along the border with Ukraine would be pulled back. The announcement also made no mention of the Russian troops conducting military drills in Belarus that are scheduled to continue through Feb. 20.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reportedly said that the country’s drills were held “on its own territory and according to its own plans, they start, go on and end as planned” no matter ​​“who thinks what and who gets hysterical about it, who is deploying real informational terrorism.”

“We’ve always said the troops will return to their bases after the exercises are over. This is the case this time as well,” Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, added, according to Reuters.

Just hours ahead Tuesday’s announcement, a U.S. defense official said Russian troops were moving closer to the border with Ukraine. Other Western authorities have reiterated that Russia could attack at any time, the AP noted.

Western intelligence officials have been warning of an imminent invasion of Ukraine by Russia for days, and President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone over the weekend about the simmering tensions between the two nations. 

Monique Beals and Morgan Chalfant contributed to this report, which was updated at 9:51 a.m.