KYIV, Feb 16 - Russia is continuing its military buildup around Ukraine, Western officials said, even as Moscow announced it had begun drawing down some troops and released footage of tanks and armored personnel carriers departing Crimea, The Wall Street Journal reported.

On Wednesday, the day some U.S. intelligence officials had said a Russian invasion was likely to occur, Ukrainians rallied across the country in a display of solidarity and defiance in morning ceremonies. A cyberattack rattled the country the previous day, targeting the Ministry of Defense and two of the biggest banks, temporarily disrupting payments and showing zero balances on accounts.

“We have heard the signs from Moscow about readiness to continue diplomatic efforts,” North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, as defense ministers from the alliance’s 30 member states gathered in Brussels. “But so far, we have not seen any de-escalation on the ground. On the contrary, it appears that Russia continues its military buildup.”

U.S. officials too called into question Moscow’s statements about troop withdrawals.

A senior administration official said Wednesday that Russia has instead increased its troops by as many as 7,000. Some of the troops arrived Wednesday, the official said.

“In recent weeks, and even in recent days, more Russian forces, not fewer, are at the border, and they’re moving, concerningly, into fighting positions,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said Wednesday.

Footage released Wednesday by Russia’s Defense Ministry showed trains ferrying tanks across the Crimean Bridge as Russia said it was moving troops from positions near Ukraine’s border. A NATO official said Moscow’s military buildup around Ukraine continues.

A senior British intelligence official said the new buildup of Russian forces near the Ukrainian border included armored vehicles, helicopters and a field hospital.

“Russia has the military mass in place to conduct an invasion of Ukraine,” Chief of Defense Intelligence Lt. Gen. Sir Jim Hockenhull said in a statement.

Some 130,000 Russian troops have gathered near Ukraine, including some 30,000 for military drills in Belarus, in recent weeks, prompting the U.S. to shut down its embassy in Kyiv and to evacuate American diplomats and military personnel. Russian President Vladimir Putin said after meeting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday that he had ordered “a partial troop withdrawal” and that he is open to continuing talks with the West about Russia’s security demands and the future of Ukraine. (wsj/ez)