Tanks, armoured vehicles, infantry carriers, several BUK missile systems and BM-21 launch vehicles (‘Grad’) have been pulled to the north of Crimea, Dmitry Tymchuk, director of the Centre for Information and Political Research, said on Facebook.
As much as 180 units of military equipment were moved from the Russian territory to the town of Novoazovsk. “At the moment not less than 70 tanks and some 100 armoured vehicles and infantry carriers have been observed not far from the borderline between Kherson region and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,” Mr Tymchuk states.
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko said on Wednesday Russia had moved the bulk of its forces he said had been in eastern Ukraine back onto Russian territory, raising hopes for the peace process.
“According to the latest information that I have received from our intelligence, 70 percent of Russian troops have been moved back across the border,” Poroshenko told a government meeting. “This further strengthens our hope that the peace initiatives have good prospects.”
Russia denies sending any troops into eastern Ukraine in support of pro-Russian separatists battling Kiev’s forces there, despite what Ukraine and the West say is overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Moscow also denies arming the separatists.
