{"id":41145,"date":"2022-02-17T01:30:07","date_gmt":"2022-02-17T01:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/02\/17\/russia-added-7k-troops-near-border-says-us-official\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:13:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:13:49","slug":"russia-added-7k-troops-near-border-says-us-official","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2022\/02\/17\/russia-added-7k-troops-near-border-says-us-official\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia added 7k troops near Ukraine border, says US official"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Russia actually added another 7,000 troops to the region, according to White House officials on Wednesday as satellite images captured in the last 48 hours seem to bolster skepticism the United States and its NATO allies have about the Russian assertions that it is withdrawing forces surrounding Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The White House statements to Associated Press reporters about the new Russian troop buildup<\/a> follows reports from the State Department that Russia has not withdrawn troops. During a televised address on Tuesday, President Joe Biden said that there were more than 150,000 Russian troops arrayed around Ukraine, and that, despite protestations otherwise, they were poised to attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A day later, administration officials said the Russians continued to add forces to the border areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMore Russian forces, not fewer, are at the border,\u201d State Department spokesman Ned Price said to reporters Wednesday<\/a>, adding, \u201cand they are moving, concerningly, into fighting positions. This is cause for profound concern.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Price reiterated what U.S. officials have been saying for weeks: an attack on Ukraine could happen at any time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to get into precise timeframes, but the fact remains \u2014 and we\u2019ve communicated this very clearly to our partners, to our allies across Europe and beyond \u2014 that the Russian Federation has in place now what it would need to undertake an attack against Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maxar Technologies has been monitoring military movement around Ukraine over the last several months. According to a representative, images released Wednesday indicate heightened military activity in Belarus, Crimea, and western Russia, including a floating bridge placed over the Pripyat River in Belarus, less than five miles from the Ukraine border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n