NATO has seen limited Russian troop activity near the Ukraine border that may suggest some Russian forces are preparing to withdraw, Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Thursday, Reuters Reported. It is the first time during the Ukraine crisis that NATO has given any credence to Russian statements that it is withdrawing troops from near the Ukraine border, where NATO said it had built up a force of around 40,000 soldiers. "Late yesterday, we have seen limited Russian troop activity in the vicinity of the border with Ukraine that may suggest that some of these forces are preparing to withdraw. It is too early to say what this means, but I hope this is the start of a full and genuine withdrawal," Rasmussen told reporters during a visit to Montenegro. However, he said that, at present, most of the "previously deployed" Russian force remained near the Ukrainian border and the Russian military was continuing to carry out exercises in the same area.
