Russian Defence Ministry says its forces near Ukraine en route to home bases

MOSCOW – Russia’s Defence Ministry says its forces in the regions near Ukraine are moving to railway stations and airfields en route to their home bases.

The ministry said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that military units in the Belgorod, Bryansk and Rostov regions started marching back Wednesday and are expected to arrive at their home bases on June 1.

Yet the U.S. and NATO, which estimates that Russia has 40,000 troops along the border with Ukraine, repeated Wednesday they could not yet see any signs of a Russian pullout.

President Vladimir Putin ordered the withdrawal Monday in what could be an attempt to ease tensions with the West over Ukraine.

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