Kiev Is Inflamed, 90,000 Russian Troops Are Near The Ukrainian Border

Illustration of the Russian military on the Ukrainian border. (Wikimedia Commons/Sebastian Meyer)

JAKARTA - Russia has left a military unit near the Ukrainian border after exercises, with the number of Russian troops in the area now standing at 90,000, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.

The Russian Armed Forces recently held a series of large-scale exercises, including with airborne troops, the ministry said late Tuesday.

After the training, 41st Army units remained, about 260 km (160 miles) from the Ukrainian border, he said.

"It should be noted that the Russian Federation periodically uses the practice of transferring and gathering military units to maintain tension in the region and political pressure on neighboring countries," the ministry said, citing Reuters on November 3.

This spring, Moscow alarmed the capital Kiev and the West by deploying more than 100,000 troops along the border with Ukraine, though later ordering them back to base.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry on Monday denied media reports that Russia was building a military force on the border, saying it had not seen an increase in troops or weapons.

Meanwhile, news outlet Politico said commercial satellite photos taken on Monday confirmed recent reports that Russia was once again gathering troops and military equipment on the border with Ukraine.

Satellite images supplied by US space company Maxar Technologies show about 1,000 military vehicles near the Russian city of Yelnya, about 250 km north of the Ukrainian border.

"Based on a recent review of satellite imagery, the equipment (which includes tanks, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery and associated support equipment) is likely to start arriving in the area in late September," Maxar explained in emailed comments.

The Kremlin rejected the report and on Wednesday said Russia maintains a military presence on its own territory if it deems it necessary.

Relations between Kiev and Moscow have fallen to their lowest point since 2014, when Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula and war broke out between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, which Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people.