KYIV (Reuters) – The newest Ukrainian intelligence report compiled on Wednesday shows no proof of Russia pulling again its forces from close to Ukraine’s borders, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov instructed Reuters in an interview.
Ukraine will solely imagine Russia is severe about defusing the present disaster if it withdraws its troops, army {hardware} and weapons, together with forces deployed in Belarus for drills which might be on account of finish on Feb. 20, he mentioned.
According to the Ukrainian army, about 140,000 mixed Russian army and pro-Russian separatist forces are presently massed close to Ukraine, together with 125,000 floor troops. There are 9,000 Russian troops in Belarus alone, he mentioned.
By means of comparability, Reznikov mentioned Ukraine has round 35,000 troops in its japanese Donbass area, the place Kyiv has been battling a Russian-backed separatist insurgency since 2014.
SCEPTICISM
His feedback underscored the scepticism in Ukraine and amongst its Western supporters about Russia’s assertion that it’s pulling again troops after workout routines close to Ukraine. The West fears they could possibly be used to launch a army assault on Ukraine, one thing Moscow has repeatedly denied.
The Russian defence ministry has additionally revealed footage that it mentioned confirmed tanks, infantry combating automobiles and self-propelled artillery items leaving the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014.
“Unfortunately, we can not affirm this info by goal indicators. This isn’t confirmed both by Ukrainian intelligence information or by the info of the intelligence communities of our strategic companions,” Reznikov mentioned.
Even if Russian troops moved away from one location, Reznikov mentioned that might seemingly solely be a “migration” to a different space close to Ukraine, and never a real pullback.
“All the troops that they introduced up… should return to their everlasting deployment factors. Then it is going to be clear that they’ve cancelled their aggressive plans,” he mentioned.
“Withdrawal of individuals isn’t sufficient – weapons and gear should additionally go away,” Reznikov added.
Ukraine’s defence ministry has been hit by what the federal government described as the biggest denial of service assault within the nation’s historical past this week. The authorities suspects Russia could possibly be behind the assault. Moscow has denied any involvement.
Reznikov mentioned the hack had not broken the defence ministry’s net portal and didn’t have an effect on Ukraine’s closed command and management programs. He mentioned the ministry wished to arrange particular cyber items to cope with such assaults in future.
(Editing by Matthias Williams and Gareth Jones)
