Russia has started pulling its troops back from Crimea, the Ukrainian region annexed by Moscow in 2014, the TASS and Interfax news agencies reported on Friday.
“Military units and formations are currently marching to railway loading stations and airfields, and loading onto landing ships, railway platforms and military transport aircraft,” the agencies, which are pro-Kremlin, quoted a Russian Defense Ministry statement as saying.
It comes one day after the country’s Defense Ministry said Russia would also withdraw their soldiers from the Ukrainian border.
The build-up of tens of thousands of army personnel had alarmed Western governments, sparking fears of a wider military intervention by Moscow.
EU officials estimated that the number was as high as 100,000 near the border as well as in Crimea.
jf/rt (Reuters, Interfax)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/russia-starts-pulling-troops-from-crimea-reports-say/a-57306879?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf