The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Tuesday that a portion of the Russian troops deployed near the border with Ukraine has begun returning to their bases, amidst Western fears of an imminent military operation. The ministry's spokesperson, Igor Konashenkov, said in remarks reported by Russian news agencies, "Units from the southern and western military regions have completed their mission and have started loading via land transport and railways and are returning to their barracks today."
This announcement comes as commercial satellite images published by the American company Maxar Technologies show Russian military activities at several locations near Ukraine. Russia, which has repeatedly denied any intention to invade Ukraine, is conducting large military drills in Belarus as part of a significant troop buildup to the north, east, and south of Ukraine.
Maxar Technologies, which has been monitoring the Russian troop buildup for weeks, indicated that images taken on Sunday and Monday revealed significant new activity in Belarus, western Russia, and the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia from Ukraine. Maxar pointed out new large deployments of troops and attack helicopters, as well as the positioning of fighter jets, bombers, and ground attack aircraft at forward locations.
Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border, raising fears of an invasion of Ukraine, especially since the joint exercises being conducted by Moscow with Belarus between February 10 and 20 mean that the Russian military is nearly encircling Ukraine.
