Russia troop drawdown welcomed cautiously by Ukraine

Russia begins withdrawing troops from the border to bases inside the country, easing fears of hostilities.

Russia’s defence ministry says it has started withdrawing troops and military units from annexed Crimea to their permanent bases, following a huge build-up near Ukraine’s border that had raised concerns in Kyiv and the West about the risk of war. A day earlier, on Thursday, Moscow announced it had completed a “snap inspection” of military drills in its south and west after weeks of tensions with the West over its concentration of thousands of troops near Ukraine. Ukraine gave a guarded welcome to the troop drawdown.