Russia is undergoing the most significant military buildup in Europe since the end of the cold war. It has urged NATO to withdraw from eastern Europe and ruled out Ukraine's accession to the alliance.
Russia announced Wednesday that it was withdrawing further forces from Ukraine's borders following military drills. However, the U.S. does not trust Russia's allegation and believes Moscow has increased its presence by up to 7,000 troops, according to a senior Biden administration official.
The U.S. believes the window for a possible strike on Ukraine has been extended by another four to five days, meaning it may occur following the Beijing Olympics and a critical summit of world leaders in Germany this weekend, CBS News' Margaret Brennan said late Wednesday.
"So yesterday, the Russian government announced that it was evacuating forces from the Ukraine border....But we now know it was false," the official explained to reporters, without providing details or evidence.
According to one U.S. official, a provocation might occur at any time and the accompanying military attack could take place a few days later.
Brennan noted that one potential flashpoint is the Donbas region. Russian propaganda is currently ongoing, emphasizing on the atrocities in Donbass, which Putin has described as "genocide."
According to top administration sources, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will join international leaders in Munich this weekend, where she will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and separately with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Russia's defense ministry announced Wednesday that its forces were withdrawing following maneuvers near Ukraine and released a video purporting to show troops departing the Crimean peninsula.
However, in an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that "essential units" were en route to the border.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden disclosed the U.S. thought that Russia had encircled Ukraine with 150,000 troops, an increase from prior estimates of around 100,000.
On Tuesday, the U.S. and its NATO partners expressed extreme skepticism of Moscow's early claims of a retreat, but they made it clear that both sides wished to continue talking for a resolution to the impasse between East and West, with Ukraine caught in the crossfire.
Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. has yet to see evidence that Russia was withdrawing part of the estimated 150,000 troops massed along Ukraine's northern, eastern, and southern borders. He stated that a Russian invasion "remains obviously feasible."
