KYIV: The United States and Nato joined Ukraine saying there was no sign of Russian troops withdrawing, after military movements in occupied Crimea fuelled reports that the crisis could be abating.
President Volodymyr Zelensky watched Ukrainian soldiers training with new Western-supplied anti-tank weapons near Rivne, west of the capital Kyiv.
He also visited the frontline city of Mariupol to mark what he had declared Ukraine’s “Day of Unity”, 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 Ukraine. “We will defend ourselves.”
The rhetoric and demonstration of Ukrainian firepower contrasted with images on Russian state media that were said to show Moscow’s forces bringing an end to a major exercise in Crimea.
But 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, adding: “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 defence 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.
“I regret to say that this is the new normal in Europe.”
On the reported Russian troop movements, he said: “So far we do not see any sign of de-escalation on the ground; no withdrawals of troops or equipment.
“Russia maintains a massive invasion force ready to attack with high-end capabilities from Crimea to Belarus.”
US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday also warned that no significant withdrawal of Russian troops from the Ukraine border had been observed.
“The risk of a further military aggression by Russia against Ukraine remains high,” according to a statement issued by the German chancellery following a phone call between Scholz and Biden.
* Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss.
* Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.