Four Russian battalion task groups currently remain in Ukraine, NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Europe Philip Breedlove has said, reports GHN based on Ukrinform.
He said that despite the fact that Russia had withdrawn part of its troops from Ukraine, they remained close to the border.
"From a peak of well over ten battalion task groups inside of Ukraine, I believe we're now down to elements of probably four battalion task groups inside Ukraine. The Russians have been removing forces to the east of the Ukrainian border back into Russia, but make no mistake -- those forces are close enough to be quickly brought back to bear if required," Breedlove said.
The commander said that Russia had also used asymmetric hybrid warfare to further illicit transgressions, which is a danger to their neighbors and the safety and security of Europe.
"Europe, despite the great work of our predecessors over the last 70 years, has become a region under tension. Russia has forcefully changed borders of several countries by violating their territorial sovereignty. Russia has illegally annexed a part of one of them, something we will never acknowledge," Breedlove said.