Russia Announces Withdrawal of 10,000 Troops After Drills Near Ukraine

Russian troops take part in drills at the Kadamovskiy firing range in the Rostov region in southern Russia on December 14, 2021. © AP
Russian troops take part in drills at the Kadamovskiy firing range in the Rostov region in southern Russia on December 14, 2021. © AP
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Russia Announces Withdrawal of 10,000 Troops After Drills Near Ukraine

Russian troops take part in drills at the Kadamovskiy firing range in the Rostov region in southern Russia on December 14, 2021. © AP
Russian troops take part in drills at the Kadamovskiy firing range in the Rostov region in southern Russia on December 14, 2021. © AP

Russia announced Saturday that more than 10,000 troops had finished month-long drills near Ukraine, amid Western accusations that Moscow was plotting an invasion of its ex-Soviet neighbour.

The defense ministry said in a statement that the drills for Southern Military District forces had taken place in a host of southern regions including Rostov, Krasnodar and Crimea, which Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014.

But the drills also took place further afield, including in Stavropol, Astrakhan, North Caucasus republics and even in Russia's Caucasus ally Armenia.

The defense ministry said the troops were returning to their permanent bases and that stand-by units would be readied for the New Year's holidays.

Western countries have accused Russia of massing upwards of 100,000 troops near Ukraine ahead of a possible winter invasion.

According to Kiev's estimates, the number of Russian troops along Ukraine's borders has increased from around 93,000 troops in October to 104,000 now.

Russia says it is free to move its forces on its territory how it sees fit and denies that it is planning a large-scale attack.

It has presented the West with sweeping security demands, saying NATO must not admit new members and seeking to bar the United States from establishing new bases in former Soviet republics.

Tensions reached a boiling point on Wednesday when President Vladimir Putin said Russia would take "appropriate retaliatory" military steps in response to what he called the West's "aggressive stance".

But he lowered the volume the next day, saying he had seen a "positive" reaction from the United States to Russia's security proposals and said talks would take place next month.

A senior US official has said Washington was "ready to engage in diplomacy as soon as early January", both bilaterally and through "multiple channels".

On Saturday, a German government official said Moscow and Berlin had agreed to a meeting in "early January".

German leader Olaf Scholz and Putin in a phone call Thursday agreed to the meeting between the chancellor's diplomatic adviser, Jens Ploetner, and the Kremlin's pointman on relations with Ukraine, Dmitry Kozak.

In an interview on Friday, a senior Ukrainian security official told AFP that there was no risk of an imminent Russian invasion.

Kiev has been battling pro-Russia separatists since shortly after Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014 in a conflict that has claimed over 13,000 lives.

The West has long accused the Kremlin of providing direct military support to pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine. Russia denies the claims.



Elon Musk Holds Unprecedented Pentagon Meeting, Wants Leakers Prosecuted

 Elon Musk and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laugh at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, US, March 21, 2025 in this screengrab obtained from a video. (Reuters)
Elon Musk and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laugh at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, US, March 21, 2025 in this screengrab obtained from a video. (Reuters)
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Elon Musk Holds Unprecedented Pentagon Meeting, Wants Leakers Prosecuted

 Elon Musk and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laugh at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, US, March 21, 2025 in this screengrab obtained from a video. (Reuters)
Elon Musk and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laugh at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, US, March 21, 2025 in this screengrab obtained from a video. (Reuters)

Billionaire Elon Musk took his campaign to cut the US federal government into uncharted waters on Friday, holding an unprecedented top-level meeting at the Pentagon and calling for the prosecution of any Defense Department officials leaking false information about his visit.

Musk met US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for 80 minutes in his first such talks at the Pentagon, which is responsible for a large chunk of federal government spending. It was unclear whether US generals joined that meeting virtually.

The New York Times reported that Musk would be briefed on secret war plans for China, something Musk, Trump and others denied. Musk called the report "pure propaganda" and urged legal action against leakers.

"I look forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT. They will be found," he wrote on X before the Hegseth meeting.

President Donald Trump, who has not yet visited the Pentagon in his second term as president, also denied the story. "China will not even be mentioned or discussed," he said in a post on Truth Social on Thursday about the meeting. Later he told reporters the Pentagon meeting was to address costs.

"Elon was over there to address costs – DOGE – a thing called DOGE, which you have heard about," Trump, referring to Musk's Department of Government Efficiency

Access to a closely guarded military plan would mark a sharp expansion of Musk's role as the Trump adviser who is spearheading efforts to cut US government spending.

It would also fuel questions about conflicts of interest for Musk, who as the head of Tesla and SpaceX also has business interests in China.

The White House has previously said Musk will recuse himself if any conflicts of interest arise between his business dealings and his role in cutting federal government spending.

Musk arrived in a motorcade at the Pentagon on Friday morning and quickly moved upstairs to meet Hegseth who said on X the talks would focus on "innovation, efficiencies & smarter production."

As he departed, Musk was seen joking with Hegseth, and said the meeting went well.

"If there's anything I can do to be helpful, I would like us to have a good outcome here," Musk said as he departed.

Musk's businesses Starlink and SpaceX have a number of Pentagon contracts, raising questions about conflicts of interest as he advocates for innovation and re-prioritization of Pentagon spending to find efficiencies.

Last week, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said she had ordered an investigation into leaks from inside the intelligence community and is also probing internal chat rooms for any misconduct by employees.

During Trump's first term, his administration referred more media leaks for criminal investigation each year than in any of the previous 15 years, according to records released in 2021 by the Justice Department to the independent watchdog group, Project on Government Oversight, in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.