US and NATO say Russia is building up troops near Ukraine, not withdrawing

KYIV: The United States and NATO said Russia was still building up troops around Ukraine on Wednesday despite Moscow's insistence it was pulling back, questioning President Vladimir Putin's stated desire to negotiate a solution to the crisis.

But US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said key Russian units were moving towards the border, not away. "We have not seen any withdrawal of Russian forces. And of course, that contradicts the message of diplomatic efforts," Stoltenberg said before a meeting of the alliance in Brussels."What we see is that they have increased the number of troops and more troops are on their way. So, so far, no de-escalation."

But Russia also said it would be ready to re-route energy exports to other markets if it was hit by sanctions, which Washington and its allies have threatened if it invades Ukraine. US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that more than 150,000 Russian troops were still massed near Ukraine's borders and an invasion remained"distinctly possible".

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