Ukraine says Russia leaves units near its border, keeps 90,000 troops

Russia has left some of its military units near the Ukrainian border after military exercises and the number of Russian troops in the area totals 90,000 servicemen, Kyiv said on Wednesday.

Russian armed forces held a series of large-scale during the second half of this year, including with airborne troops, the Ukrainian defence ministry said.

After the training, units of the 41st Army remained in the European part of Russia at a distance of about 260 km (160 miles) from Ukrainian border.


"It should be noted that the Russian Federation periodically resorted to the practice of transferring and accumulating military units in order to maintain tensions in the region and political pressure on neighbouring states," the ministry said.

The ministry on Monday denied a media report that Russia was building up its troop presence the border, saying it had not observed an increase in forces or weaponry.

The Politico news outlet said commercial satellite photos taken on Monday confirmed recent reports that Russia is once again massing troops and military equipment on the border with Ukraine after a major buildup this spring.

The Kremlin rejected that report.

It said on Wednesday that Russia maintains a military presence on its territory where it considers it necessary.

This spring, Moscow alarmed Kyiv and Western capitals by building up more than 100,000 of troops along the border with Ukraine, though it later ordered them back to base.

Relations between Kyiv and Moscow have plummeted since 2014, when Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and a war broke out between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, which Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people.