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Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu said Thursday that his country will begin pulling troops back from its border with Ukraine, Bloomberg reported. The withdrawal is set to begin on Friday and will be completed by May 1.
The military buildup along Russia’s western edge, which had been expected to reach 120,000 troops, has led to mounting concern in both Ukraine and the West. In a public address on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy invited his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for talks to resolve the situation.
Western leaders have spoken out about the rising friction between Moscow and Kyiv. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the situation “worryingly tense” in a speech to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg this week.
During his announcement of the troop withdrawal, the Russian defense minister said that the goals of the military operation had been fulfilled.
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