Ukraine now says 90,000 Russian troops not far from border

BY YURAS KARMANAU
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine is complaining that Russia has kept tens of thousands of troops not far from the countries’ border after war games, as part of its attempts to exert pressure on its ex-Soviet neighbor. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s statement Wednesday marked an about-turn from its denial of any Russian military buildup — as reported in U.S. media — just two days earlier. The ministry said Wednesday that about 90,000 Russian troops are stationed not far from the border and in rebel-controlled areas in Ukraine’s east. Russia has cast its weight behind a separatist insurgency in Ukraine’s east that erupted shortly after Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.