New Delhi: Russia today said that military drills in Moscow-annexed Crimea had ended and that soldiers were returning to their garrisons, a day after it announced a first troop pullback from Ukraine’s borders.On Tuesday some of its military units were returning to their bases after exercises near Ukraine and mocked repeated Western warnings.
As Russia pulled back some troops from its border along Ukraine, the Western world is breathing a sigh of relief. Even as tensions simmer in Ukraine, the White House is exercising caution and market sentiments around the world seem to be improving.
Units of the Southern Military District, having completed their participation in tactical exercises, are moving to their permanent deployment points, Moscow’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.
State television showed images of military units crossing a bridge linking the Russia-controlled peninsula to the mainland.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden made an impassioned appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin to step back from war with Ukraine on Tuesday, speaking starkly of the ‘needless death and destruction’ Moscow could cause and international outrage Putin would face.