Brussels. May 6. INTERFAX-Tens of thousands of Russian troops remain near the border with Ukraine, and in this regard, NATO should closely monitor the situation, Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.
"We have seen that some troops have been withdrawn from the border, but tens of thousands of troops remain there," he told reporters in Brussels.
In addition, according to Stoltenberg, the Russian military placed equipment near Ukraine in advance. "In addition, there are restrictions on the Black Sea," the Secretary General added.
"NATO needs to remain alert and closely monitor developments," Stoltenberg added.
Earlier on Thursday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that significant Russian military forces remain at the borders with Ukraine.
"Russia has withdrawn some troops, but significant forces remain on the border with Ukraine. Russia has withdrawn some equipment, but a significant amount of equipment remains on the border with Ukraine. So Russia has the opportunity to act aggressively in a fairly short time, if it decides to do so. (...) We see that there is now a concentration of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine, the largest since 2014, " Blinken said at a press conference after talks with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in Kiev.
In turn, the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky said that Russia keeps along the border with Ukraine 75 thousand military, their number is decreasing very slowly.
