Tuesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced it was pulling back some troops that had been training near Ukraine’s borders. But security have not been able to confirm the claim.
“On the contrary, we continue to see forces, especially forces that would be in the vanguard of any renewed aggression against Ukraine, continuing to be at the border, to mass at the border,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Good Morning America.
“They [Russia] have increased the number of troops and more troops are on their way. So far, there is no de-escalation,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
The White House calculates there are now 150,000 Russian troops stationed at Ukraine’s borders.
“Russia relies on confusion,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said. “Russia relies on misinformation and disinformation to cover its tracks. We should all expect that and we should all be ready for it.”
Michael McFaul, the former U.S. Ambassador to Russia testified before the House Oversight Committee’s National Security subcommittee, telling the group, regardless of Russia’s plans for Ukraine, the United States needs to prepare for future attacks.
“We will be dealing with this crisis of Russia’s threat to democracy and sovereignty in that part of the world for as long as Putin remains in power,” McFaul said.
