Russia shares images of military departures, but NATO sees troop build-up continuing | Abroad

The Department of Defense released a video. This would show that tanks and other military vehicles leave Crimea via a railway bridge. State television showed footage of soldiers crossing a bridge connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland. The peninsula belonged to Ukraine until it was occupied and annexed by Russia in 2014.

More troops on the way

“We haven’t seen any de-escalation on the ground so far,” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said. “On the contrary, it seems that Russia is continuing the military build-up.”

Stoltenberg before the start of consultations with NATO defense ministers. “What we see is that they have increased the number of troops and more troops are on the way.”

The cautious optimism he expressed on Tuesday was based on signals from the Kremlin that it is ready to seek a diplomatic solution, the secretary general of the Western military alliance said. But “we haven’t seen a pullback and that of course contradicts that.”

Proof

The partial troop withdrawal is welcomed by countries worried about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, but they also say they want to see evidence. The Americans recently said an invasion could take place as early as this week, possibly as early as Wednesday.

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It is not known how many soldiers will remain near the border with Ukraine. Russia said on Tuesday that some units from the western and southern districts were leaving, but virtually no details were shared. The country has mustered more than 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers, to which must be added the 30,000 who are currently engaged in major joint exercises with Belarus.

Hysteria

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that the troop withdrawal was not a surprise. “We have always said that the troops will return to their bases once the exercises are over,” a spokesman said. Russia denied any invasion plans from the outset. Western warnings are therefore dismissed from Moscow as hysteria and alarmism.