Russian troops began pulling back to their permanent bases Friday after a massive buildup that has caused Ukrainian and Western concerns.
On Thursday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu declared the sweeping maneuvers in Crimea and wide swaths of western Russia over, and ordered the military to bring the troops that took part in them back to their permanent bases by May 1. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the announcement.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that its forces that took part in the massive drills in Crimea were moving to board trains, transport aircraft and landing vessels en route to their permanent bases.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv would await intelligence confirmation of the pullback.
“We want to see that Russian deeds match Russian words,” Kuleba said Friday during a visit to Romania.
“What was said was not enough, we want to see that this will be implemented and all these forces will be removed from our border.” He added that if the pullback is confirmed, “this would mean a real easing of tension.”
While ordering the pullback of military personnel, Shoigu ordered their heavy weapons kept in western Russia for a massive exercise called Zapad (West) 2021 later this year.
The weapons were to be stored at the Pogonovo firing range in the southwestern Voronezh region, 160 kilometers (100 miles) east of Russia’s border with Ukraine.