LONDON (Reuters) – Britain has thus far not seen any evidence that Russia is withdrawing troops from positions near the Ukrainian border, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Wednesday.
The United States and Britain have repeatedly warned that President Vladimir Putin could order more than 130,000 troops massed near the Ukrainian border to invade.
Russia says it has the right to put troops wherever it wants on its own territory and has repeatedly said that it does not intend to invade Ukraine.
On Tuesday, the Russian defence ministry published footage to demonstrate it was returning some troops to base after exercises.
“We haven’t seen any evidence at the moment of that withdrawal,” Wallace told Times Radio.
“Physical observations that we see show the opposite of some of the recent rhetoric coming out the Kremlin,” Wallace told the BBC.
Asked about how the crisis surrounding Ukraine would develop, Putin told reporters after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Moscow on Tuesday that Russia would act according to its plan.
(Reporting by William James; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
