NATO and the United States have said Russia is still building up troops around Ukraine despite Moscow’s statement on Wednesday, February 16 that it was pulling back troops, questioning President Vladimir Putin’s desire to negotiate a solution to the crisis between the two former Soviet Union countries.
In Ukraine, people raised flags and played the national anthem to show unity against fears of an invasion on Wednesday, February 16, the day that the US said Russia would attack Ukraine.
On Wednesday the Ukrainian government said a cyberattack that hit the defence ministry was the worst of its kind.
The cyber attack comes after Russia’s defence ministry said its forces were pulling back after military exercises in southern and western borders of Ukraine.
Russia published video that it said showed tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and self-propelled artillery units leaving the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014.
However, responding to Russia’s claims, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said key Russian units were moving towards the border, not away.
“There’s what Russia says. And then there’s what Russia does. And we haven’t seen any pullback of its forces,” Blinken said in an interview on MSNBC.
