Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his troops near the Ukrainian border to pull out, says the Kremlin.
Russia had amassed a 40,000-strong military force on the border, raising tensions in the region, with many expecting that Russia was preparing to launch a further land-grab after the successful annexation of Crimea in March.
The military units in the Rostov, Belgorod and Bryansk regions have been ordered to return to their permanent bases.
Russia has also called on Kiev to follow suit and pull back its troops from the south-east of the country, where they have been involved in a military crackdown on those looking for the region to join Russia.
These orders come as Moscow, along with the rest of the world, said that it would not recognise the results of a referendum in Eastern Ukraine for following the path set out by Crimea and join Russia.
Kiev’s western allies have been putting pressure on Moscow to de-escalate the situation and pull back its troops, but until now Putin had been reluctant to co-operate.
A similar statement was made in the past, but no troop movements were recorded, with that statement part of Putin’s misinformation campaign that allowed him to move in and take Crimea without shots being fired.
