Russia Ukraine crisis: Russia announces end of Crimea military drills, shares video of troops leaving

Moscow, Feb 15: Russian defence ministry Wednesday announced the end of Crimea military drills, reported news agency AFP.

The Russian defence ministry shared a video of Russian military equipment and forces leaving Crimea.

The move comes after Moscow said Tuesday that some of its troops are returning to home bases, indicating a cooling of tensions of a possible Ukraine invasion.

The video showed a column of tanks and military vehicles leaving annexed Crimea across a railway bridge after drills, adding that some troops would also return to their permanent bases.

Vladimir Putin said Tuesday he welcomed a security dialogue with the West as his military reported pulling back some of its troops near Ukraine - signals that may indicate the Kremlin has opted for a diplomatic path for now despite Western fears of an imminent Russian invasion of its neighbour. Putin said he doesn't want war and would rely on negotiations as he presses his demand for the West to halt Ukraine's bid to join NATO.

At the same time, he didn't commit to a full pullback of troops, saying Russia's next moves in the standoff will depend on how the situation evolves.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden, in a televised address, said that reports of pullback of troops are unverified and revised the number of Russian troops encircling Ukraine from 1,00,000 to 1,50,000.