UK foreign secretary: Russia could drag out border crisis for months

Tensions with Russia over Ukraine will "test our mettle," UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has warned ahead of a trip to Kyiv, Report informs referring to the Telegraph.

She said that the West "must not be lulled into a false sense of security" after Russia claimed it had pulled back troops from the country's border.

Russia's defense ministry said on February 17 it was removing forces after the completion of military exercises.

But a senior US official said another 7,000 troops had arrived instead.

The claim was reiterated by UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, who is in Brussels meeting with other NATO defense ministers.

He told reporters that he predicted the Kremlin would "peddle more false stories" about Ukraine's own actions - such as reports of ceasefire breaches - if Russia was to invade, saying it was "part of the playbook."

Truss said there was "currently no evidence" Russia was withdrawing, adding: "We must have no illusions that Russia could drag this out much longer in a brazen ploy to spend weeks more - if not months - subverting Ukraine and challenging Western unity."

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the UK for its support in recent weeks, tweeting that he was "very grateful to Boris Johnson for the unity", and urged the countries to "join forces to preserve peace".