NATO said Wednesday it had seen no sign of Russian troops withdrawing from the border with Ukraine, despite President Vladimir Putin’s claim they have been pulled back.
“We have no indication of a change in the position of military forces along the Ukraine border,” a NATO military official said.
Putin had said earlier that in response to Western concerns of a possible Ukraine invasion, Moscow had pulled troops back.
“We were told constantly about concerns over our troops near the Ukrainian border. We have pulled them back,” Putin said.
“Today they are not at the Ukrainian border but in places of regular exercises, at training grounds,” he said after meeting Swiss president and current OSCE chief Didier Burkhalter.