Russia-Ukraine crisis: Moscow says Western 'propaganda' has failed 'without a single shot fired'
Russia has said some military units are returning to their bases as
its foreign ministry said the West has been "humiliated" over its
warnings about an invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian Military of
Defence (MoD) said it has been carrying out planned training exercises,
including with Belarus, but some of those have been completed so a
number of troops on Ukraine's border have begun heading back to their
bases today.
However, the majority are still carrying out training both on land and sea, they said.
Major
General Igor Konashenkov, chief spokesman for the Russian MoD, said:
"As the combat training measures are completed, the troops, as always,
will return to their points of permanent deployment.
"The units of
the Southern and Western military districts, having completed their
tasks, have already begun loading onto rail and road transport and will
begin moving to their military garrisons today.
"Separate units will return on their own as part of military columns."
The US and the UK warned a Russian invasion of Ukraine was
"imminent", likely on Wednesday, as more than 130,000 Russian troops
amassed at the border.
Reflecting on Moscow saying some units are
returning to their bases, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria
Zakharova said: "15 February, 2022, will go down in history as the day
Western war propaganda failed.
But speaking earlier on Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss
told Sky News: "The only thing I'll believe is when they move the troops
away from the border, words are easy. What they need to do is move the
troops away from the border."
She added that the West would need
to see a "full-scale removal of troops to show that is true", after
being asked on LBC about Russia saying it had started returning units to
their bases.
