Kuleba calls on Russia to withdraw troops if it really does not want war

Russia must withdraw the troops it amassed near Ukraine's borders if it does not really want a new war.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said this in a post on Twitter, Ukrinform reports.

He said Russian troops should be pulled back from Ukraine's borders and from the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.

"If Russian officials are serious when they say they don't want a new war, Russia must continue diplomatic engagement and pull back military forces it amassed along Ukraine's borders and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine," Kuleba wrote, adding that diplomacy is the only responsible way in resolving conflicts.

The possibility of a full-scale Russian operation against Ukraine has been actively discussed in the media outlets of some countries. The United States sees signs that Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning to use military force against Ukraine in mid-February.

At the same time, Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said on January 19 that Russia would need one million troops to plan a full-scale ground operation. Currently, there are about 127,000 Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, including 106,000 ground troops. Danilov thinks the current situation is "not critical."

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