NATO accused Russia on Wednesday of sending more troops to a massive military build-up around Ukraine, even as Moscow said that it was withdrawing forces and was open to diplomacy.
Separately, a senior Western intelligence official warned that Russian military exercises were at their peak stage and the risk of Russian aggression against Ukraine would remain high for the rest of February.
U.S. President Joe Biden warned on Tuesday that more than 150,000 Russian troops were still massed near Ukraine's borders. "We are at a peak period where the exercises that the Russians had announced are in their active phases," the official said, adding that Russia would likely fire ballistic missiles eastwards from Belarus as part of its drills.
Stoltenberg cautioned that Russia has frequently repositioned military equipment and troops during the build-up.NATO is considering new steps to deter Russia on its eastern flank on Wednesday, in response to the Russian threat in Ukraine's north, east and south.
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