Western media outlets have not reported any changes in Russian military deployment around Ukraine, despite multiple announcements and videos about the withdrawal of forces and the end of the exercises, according to a Maariv report.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at a regular meeting of defense ministers in Brussels that his organization had "the ability to prove through satellite images that Russia had not withdrawn its forces from Ukraine. What we are seeing is that they have increased the number of their troops, and more forces are on the way, If they really start to retreat, that's something to be grateful for and we welcome this, but they've always moved forces back and forth."
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian stated that the size of Russian forces at the border had not changed. At the end of the conference of allied defense ministers, the military instructed its commanders to prepare for the possibility of sending additional forces to southeastern Europe, including air forces and sea militia, in response to the Russian presence on the Ukrainian border. However, she said, these are "preventive measures."
Meanwhile, Russia's Investigative Committee claims that mass graves of hundreds of Russian-speaking civilians had been found in the Donbas region, and the Russian government is accusing Ukraine of genocide.
The Russian news agency RIA reported that Ukrainian forces were the first to open fire, when representatives of the "People's Republic of Luhansk," a group of rebels allegedly supported by the Russians, claimed that the Ukrainian army opened fire on them and used machine guns and grenades against them. "Ukraine's military forces have grossly violated the ceasefire, using military weapons," Maariv reported Luhansk representatives saying.
Earlier, Russia announced the end of an exercise conducted by its troops in the Crimean Peninsula and released a video showing a column of tanks and other military vehicles leaving the region after practicing maneuvers. A source in the Russian military said that "I hope that the Kyiv learned its lesson. Russia has shown that if necessary it can quickly gather forces and send them in any direction." However, he added that "the threat to Donbas remains the same."
The defense ministers expressed their concern and called on Russia to choose the path of diplomacy and immediately withdraw its forces. They also reiterated their support for the territorial and sovereign integrity of Ukraine, threatening Russia with a "high price" if these were violated.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at a news briefing: "We are still at a time period where we believe an attack by Russian forces could happen at any moment."
Ned Price, Spokesperson for the US, said: "There are more Russian forces in the Ukrainian border and they are stationed at points of attack. We are particularly concerned about Putin and other senior officials using the word 'genocide' in the Donbas region," he said. "Without a factual basis, they can use this as an excuse for Russian military action in Ukraine. "
A senior intelligence source in the West claimed that Russia's military maneuvers were now at their peak, and that the threat to Ukraine would remain high at least until the end of February. The source told Reuters that the current situation is one in which the risk of a confrontation or an unintentional military incident is highest. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin could keep his forces on the ground for many more months. Moscow government spokeswoman Maria Zakharova sharply rejected these statements.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cynically advised Ukrainians to sound alarms whenever a report was received from the British media about the "exact" time of the Russian invasion. Peskov also denied that his country was involved in the cyberattack on Ukraine, adding that "NATO is wrong in saying that there is no evidence of a withdrawal of Russian forces". On the other hand, the Ukrainian administration claims that "The cyberattack was coordinated, and the purpose of this attack was to sow panic and undermine the situation. The Interior Ministry sees evidence of involvement of foreign intelligence services. The shutdown caused financial damage of millions, but no actual damage to infrastructure."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared a "Day of Unity" Wednesday, which was a day off from work, but only a few hundred citizens attended ceremonies around the national flag, which included singing the anthem at Kyiv Stadium and several main squares. Zelensky stated that for the time being, his country does not see any withdrawal of Russian forces from their positions near the border: "To be honest, we are responding to the reality we are seeing, and we do not see any withdrawal yet, we have only heard about it for the time being."
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken added: "The threat is real, we have not seen any withdrawal of forces. If it does happen we will welcome it. We are ready for diplomacy, we are ready for aggression, we are ready for any situation. " He added:" The United States sees Russian units moving towards the Ukrainian border and not away. " Blinken also condemned, like other Western leaders, the decision of the Russian parliament to recognize the two rebel districts of Ukraine as independent, and called this an "illegal" move. He claimed that this undermined Ukraine's sovereignty, violates international law and raises questions about Russia's commitment to act diplomatically.