Russian military activity near Ukraine remains heightened: US satellite firm

Satellite images show Russia has pulled back some military equipment from near Ukraine, but that other hardware has arrived and that Russia still has a lot of forces and equipment near its ex-Soviet neighbour, a private US company said on Thursday, Reuters reports.

The images released by US-based Maxar Technologies, which has been tracking the buildup of Russian forces for weeks, could not be independently verified by Reuters.

Western countries warned on Wednesday that there was a growing Russian military presence at Ukraine's borders, contradicting Moscow's insistence of a partial pullback.