The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the return of 10 thousand military personnel from exercises near the border of Ukraine

The Southern Military District (SMD) is returning more than 10,000 military personnel to their permanent deployment points, who were involved in the exercises during the month. This was reported by Interfax with reference to the press service of the Southern Military District.

"Field exercises" were held in the Astrakhan, Volgograd and Rostov regions, in the Crimea, Stavropol and Krasnodar territories, the republics of the North Caucasus, as well as at the training grounds of Russian military bases in Abkhazia, Armenia and South Ossetia, the report says.

Earlier, the Western Military District (ZVO) reported on the exercises of military personnel of the combined arms army in the Voronezh, Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk and Smolensk regions. The return of the military ZVO to their places of permanent deployment has not yet been announced.

• Since autumn, Western media have been reporting, citing sources, that Russia is concentrating troops near Ukraine and suggest that it may be about preparing an invasion. Russia denies this and accuses the West of "stirring up tensions."