New Delhi

In his first reaction to reports of partial pullback of Russian troops for the borders, Ukraine’s President Voldymyr Zelensky said his government hasn’t seen any withdrawal.

"To be honest, we react to the reality we have and we don't see any withdrawal yet. We just heard about it," Zelensky told the BBC at a military training ground in western Ukraine.

He said he thinks "all normal people expect de-escalation".

"As for the threat, I have said many times that we are calm about any threats because we remember that all this did not start yesterday. This has been happening for many years," he said.

Zelensky said that when Russian troops do withdraw, "everyone will see that" -- not only the military or reconnaissance.

"But for now, they are just statements," he said.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary-General, had said on Tuesday that no de-escalation has been seen on the ground yet after Russia said it was withdrawing some of its troops from the border with Ukraine.

"On the contrary, it appears that Russia continues the military build-up," he said.

He added that "we have not seen any withdrawal of Russian forces", and "that contradicts the message of diplomatic efforts" from Moscow.