Russia's defence minister on Friday ordered military drills at Ukraine's border to end, officially initiating the withdrawal of the tens of thousands of troops whose presence had exacerbated tensions with the West.
"I believe that the goals of snap checks have been reached," said Sergei Shoigu during exercises in Crimea on Thursday.
This handout picture released by the Russian Defence Ministry on April 22, 2021 shows an explosion as Russian forces take part in a military drill along the Opuk training ground not far from the town of Kerch, on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of the Crimea. /Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defence Ministry/AFP
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"Military units and formations are currently marching to the coast, railway loading stations and airfields, and loading onto landing ships, railway platforms and military transport aircraft," he said in a statement on Friday, confirming the Russian troops are heading back to their "permanent bases."
The news has been received positively by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who welcomed the move saying it will de-escalate the ongoing conflict between Kyiv's forces and pro-Moscow separatists, which started at the beginning of the year.
Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu and Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov watch the Russian military drills at the Opuk training ground. /Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defence Ministry/AFP
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has expressed more hesitation, calling for the country's partners to stay vigilant on the situation at the border, while warning that the retreat of the Russian troops "in and of itself does not halt the escalation or the conflict as a whole."
NATO commented that the move was "important and well overdue."
A Ukrainian serviceman looks through a periscope at his position on the front line with Russia-backed separatists, not far from Donetsk, on April 22, 2021. /Anatolii Stepanov/AFP
Russia moved as many as 100,000 troops to its border with Ukraine over recent weeks, for military drills that Shoigu had said were in response to "threatening" NATO actions. All soldiers should now return home by May 1.
After the announcement on Thursday, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said Zelenskiy was welcome in Moscow "anytime" to discuss bilateral relations, but also suggested Kyiv should hold discussions with the pro-Moscow separatist leaders in Donbass.
A Ukrainian serviceman sits near the front line with Russia-backed separatists in the small town of Pisky. /Aleksey Filippov/AFP
A ceasefire agreement between the two forces took hold last July, only to be interrupted at the beginning of the year after new clashes erupted, which each side blamed on the other.
The conflict has claimed 13,000 lives since 2014, with at least 31 Ukrainian soldiers and 22 separatist fighters being killed since the start of 2021.
Cover image: Ukrainian servicemen. /Anatolii Stepanov/AFP