NATO Says Russia Still Has About 1,000 Troops in East Ukraine

Brussels: Russia still has about 1,000 troops in eastern Ukraine, backed up by another 20,000 on the border, NATO said Thursday, despite Kiev reporting that Moscow had withdrawn the bulk of its forces.

The withdrawal would be "a good first step" if confirmed, a NATO military officer said in a statement to AFP, but "the fact of the matter is there are still approximately 1,000 Russian troops in eastern Ukraine... and approximately 20,000 troops on the Russian border."