Russian troops withdraw from Norway border in drop since start of Ukraine war: official

Norwegian chief of defense said Saturday that "20% or less" of Russian soldiers remain at its border in the Artic compared to when the war in Ukraine started.

After a meeting of the chiefs of defense of NATO countries held in Oslo, Kristoffersen claimed at a press conference that Russian President Vladimir Putin "knows very well" that the alliance is not a threat against Russia. "Neither Norway, nor Sweden, nor Finland, nor Poland are threatening Russia," he said. "If he believed that we were threatening Russia, he couldn't have moved on his troops to Ukraine to fight the war there." Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on Twitter: @danimwallace. 

Norway, a NATO member since 1949 following the end of World War II, shares a border with Russia in the Artic by the Kola Peninsula, where most of the Kremlin's nuclear weapons are stationed, as well as its Northern Fleet, which operates Russia's nuclear submarines, according to Reuters. 

If Russia believed NATO was a threat, chair of the NATO Military Committee, Adm. Rob Bauer, added, Moscow would have responded "completely different" to Finland’s induction into the alliance in April. "They have talked about it, but they haven't in physical terms," he said at the press conference.