US accuses Russia of deploying troops to Ukraine border

The United States on Wednesday dismissed reports that Russia was withdrawing troops from Ukraine's border, instead accusing Moscow of sending more soldiers as fears of an invasion grow.

Russia has increased its presence on the border with Ukraine by “as many as 7,000 troops,” some of whom arrived Wednesday, said a senior White House official, slamming Moscow's announcement of a withdrawal as “false”.

We continue to receive indications they could launch a false pretext at any moment to justify an invasion."

The official, who requested anonymity, added that while Moscow has said it wants to reach a diplomatic solution, its actions "indicate otherwise."

Earlier Wednesday, the United States and NATO joined Ukraine in saying there was no sign of Russian troops withdrawing after military movements in occupied Crimea fueled reports that the crisis could be abating.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky marked what he had declared “Day of Unity” by watching Ukrainian soldiers train with new Western-supplied anti-tank weapons near Rivne, west of the capital Kyiv.

He also visited the frontline city of Mariupol, wearing a military-style olive green coat.

”We are not afraid of anyone, of any enemies,” Zelensky said on a day that Western intelligence had warned Moscow could choose to invade. ”We will defend ourselves.”

Despite images on Russian state media that were said to show Moscow's forces winding up a major exercise in Crimea, Zelensky said there was no evidence of Russians pulling back.

”We are seeing small rotations. I would not call these rotations the withdrawal of forces by Russia,” he said in televised comments. "We see no change."

In Rivne, missiles pounded practice targets, while in Kyiv hundreds of civilians marched in a stadium with an enormous national banner. Russia's huge build-up of troops, missiles and warships around Ukraine has been billed as Europe's worst security risk since the Cold War.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, who hosted a meeting of alliance defense ministers in Brussels, also dismissed suggestions that the threat on Ukraine's border had diminished.

”Moscow has made it clear that it is prepared to contest the fundamental principles that have underpinned our security for decades and to do so by using force,” he said.

On the reported Russian troop movements, he said: "So far we do not see any sign of de-escalation on the ground “

Russia maintains a massive invasion force ready to attack with high-end capabilities from Crimea to Belarus.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz echoed Wednesday that "the risk of a further military aggression by Russia" remains "high," according to a statement issued following a phone call with US President Joe Biden.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded Ukraine be forbidden from pursuing its ambition to join NATO and wants to redraw the security map of eastern Europe, rolling back Western influence.