Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Thursday said that the country will withdraw troops from military drills near Ukraine.
“I believe that the goals of snap checks have been reached,” Shoigu said during exercises in Russia-annexed Crimea, as quoted by news agency AFP.
He also added that he asked the troops involved in the exercise to start returning to “permanent bases” the following day.
Earlier, Shoigu via a helicopter oversaw the number of security personnel and equipment deployed in Crimea on Thursday.
He also checked the readiness of the naval and ground troops, a news agency Reuters report said.
Interfax news agency reported that the drills involved over 10,000 soldiers and more than 40 warships.
The drills come amid the escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine’s Western allies, who have expressed concerns about a build-up of Russian forces on the border and military exercises in Crimea.
Russian news agency last week reported mentioning the defense ministry that Kremlin aims to close parts of the Black Sea to foreign military official ships for six months from Saturday.
Ukraine’s foreign minister earlier on Thursday asked Western partners to impose new sanctions on Kremlin, including removing the country from the global SWIFT bank payments system.
