U.S. says Russia has withdrawn its troops from the border with Ukraine

Russia has withdrawn most of its troops from the border with Ukraine, but seven battalions, – that is, thousands of soldiers are deployed, as announced by Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense U.S. this Friday.

From Singapore, where he is to attend a conference on international security, Hagel defined withdrawal as a promising development, but has emphasized that the move should be extended to all troops positioned at the beginning of this year. He stressed, however, that most of the soldiers have been withdrawn. ” Most have gone,” he told reporters, ” but seven battalions are still there.” Defense Secretary has specified that does not know the exact number of soldiers who are still in the area, ” but… thousands are still there.”

Hagel had also spoken on the plane he was traveling to Asia, where he has begun a trip that will also take him to Europe. He stated that he knows that ” thousands of Russian soldiers have been removed, but we also know that there are still thousands of Russian soldiers who are there who still have not moved. ” The withdrawal of troops and equipment is always promising, but can say that Russian soldiers are where they need to be alone when all troops have left the border between Russia and Ukraine. “

NATO estimated that there are about 40,000 troops near the border with Ukraine. Acting Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Mykhailo Koval, said on Friday that the Ukrainian forces will continue the military offensive launched against the pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country, until peace and order are restored. “Our task is to bring peace and order in the region.”

Meanwhile, the pro-Russian militias Lugansk region in eastern Ukraine, announced on Friday the release of four OSCE observers who had been arrested the day before. “When it was found that they are representatives of that international organization and not involved in provocations were warned that they should not travel without accompaniment and necessary documentation,” the leader of the Popular Front of Lugansk, Alexei Chmilenko, said.

He added that the insurgents will not impede in any way the work of that group mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), located in the city of Severodonetsk, and even help them in their work. “Our militia teach them what they wanted to see. Accompany them everywhere and help them,” he assured Chmilenko. Earlier, the leader of the separatist Front east Sergey Veselovski, had reported the arrest of four Europeans who ” blatantly traveled throughout the region without telling anyone.”

Meanwhile, four other OSCE observers remain held by pro-Russian militia, as acknowledged Friday Viacheslav Ponomariov, the self-proclaimed mayor of Slaviansk where separatists on Thursday shot down a helicopter of the Ukrainian Army and caused 12 deaths.

The leader of the insurgents Slaviansk stronghold of the pro-Russian rebellion in southeastern Ukraine, said then that the four observers, citizens of Estonia, Turkey, Switzerland and Denmark, could be released in the coming hours. The special observation mission of the OSCE in Ukraine, in place since last March, now has about 280 people, including 200 civilian observers from 41 countries.

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Posted by Maleeha Tareen on May 31 2014. Filed under Europe. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.