Fulfilling His Word, Russia Returns Troops After Following Exercises Near The Ukrainian Border

JAKARTA - The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that a number of its troops have finished undergoing military exercises, returned to their respective bases, fulfilling their previous remarks, reducing the escalation on the border with Ukraine.

Russian troops will return to their garrisons after the exercises are over and units of Russia's Southern and Western Military Districts have begun loading their equipment for their departure, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov, said in a statement on Tuesday.

"When the combat drills are coming to an end, the troops, as usual, will carry out a joint march to their permanent garrison. The units of the Southern and Western Military Districts that have completed their duties have begun loading personnel and equipment on the means of rail and car transportation and today will start heading to their military garrison", he quoted the Russian Defense Ministry website as saying.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said Kyiv would believe in de-escalation only after seeing Russia's withdrawal, Ukraine's Interfax news agency reported, citing Reuters February 15.

"We constantly hear different statements from the Russian Federation, so we have rules. We believe what we see. If we see the withdrawal, we will believe in de-escalation", Kuleba was quoted as saying by the report.

As previously reported, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, regretted London's demands that Russia withdraws troops from its own territory, insinuating that Moscow troops would return to their bases after training, unlike NATO troops, in a press statement after meeting the British Foreign Minister.

Foreign Minister Lavrov said Russian soldiers always return home after training to permanent deployments. While NATO troops after maneuvering in the Baltic and the Black Sea countries, usually remain in the territory of these countries.

"Unlike the exercises on its territory, which Russia conducts, and after that, the troops return to the garrison. Troops away from the territory of the UK, USA, Canada, are sent to the Baltic states, to the Black Sea countries, those troops and weapons usually do not never return home", he quipped, quoting TASS.

To note, Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border, sparking fears of an invasion, especially since Moscow's February 10-20 joint drills with Belarus meant Ukraine was almost surrounded by the Russian military.

Despite denying plans to attack Ukraine, Moscow has demanded legally binding guarantees from the United States and NATO that Kyiv will not be allowed to join the military bloc. Washington and Brussels have so far refused to make any such promises.