Ukraine crisis: Russia pulls some troops back from the border
-
Roshan Amiri
- . February 16, 2022
- . Update: February 16, 2022 7:40 pm
Ukraine– Russia’s defence ministry published a video on Wednesday that showed a column of tanks and military vehicles leaving Ukraine. Russia said that some troops would also return to their country and their permanent bases.
Russia claimed that it is pulling back some of its troops from Ukraine after a build-up raised fears of an invasion. Recently, more than 100,000 Russian troops have assembled at Ukraine’s border. However, Russia has always denied it is planning an attack. On Wednesday, video footage showed tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and self-propelled artillery units leaving the Crimean peninsula that Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.
The video was published by the RIA news agency. It showed dozens of military vehicles crossing the bridge at night. Russia’s defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said it was withdrawing some of the troops after conducting exercises in military districts bordering Ukraine. Konashenkov claimed that the combat training exercises have been conducted as planned. Russia announced a partial pullback of forces from near Ukraine on Tuesday. However, United States (US) President Joe Biden said that more than 150,000 Russian troops were still amassed near Ukraine’s borders.
Related Posts
Troops began gathering in large numbers last November near Ukraine’s borders, raising fear about Russia’s intention to invade Ukraine. In recent days the US warned an invasion could be imminent and moved its embassy out of Ukraine. However, the Russian authorities have dismissed claims by the US authorities that a Russian invasion is imminent. In recent weeks, there have been regular reports of Russia increasing troop numbers near Ukraine’s border.
Recently, the United Kingdom (UK) also pulled military advisers out of Ukraine amid ongoing tensions. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid also ordered the evacuation of their citizens and diplomats from Ukraine. Japan, Australia, Germany and Canada also evacuated the families of their diplomats from Ukraine.
