This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-29342463
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Ukraine crisis: Nato sees 'significant' Russian troop pullback | Ukraine crisis: Nato sees 'significant' Russian troop pullback |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Nato says it has observed a "significant" withdrawal of Russian troops from eastern Ukraine, but adds that some forces still remain there. | Nato says it has observed a "significant" withdrawal of Russian troops from eastern Ukraine, but adds that some forces still remain there. |
| Lt Col Jay Janzen says it is difficult to determine the number of soldiers in Ukraine, as pro-Russian separatists control several border crossings. | Lt Col Jay Janzen says it is difficult to determine the number of soldiers in Ukraine, as pro-Russian separatists control several border crossings. |
| Moscow denies arming the rebels and sending Russian troops to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. | Moscow denies arming the rebels and sending Russian troops to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. |
| UN officials say 3,245 people have been killed since fighting began in April. | |
| A shaky ceasefire has held since 5 September, and the two sides have since agreed to set up a 30km (19 miles) buffer zone. | |
| But there were reports of overnight shelling in Donetsk, Avdiivka and Debaltseve. | |
| In March, Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea southern peninsula - a move condemned by Ukraine and the West. | |
| 'Special forces' | |
| "There has been a significant pullback of Russian conventional forces from inside Ukraine, but many thousands are still deployed in the vicinity of the border," Canadian Lt Col Janzen said on Tuesday. | |
| "Some Russian troops remain inside Ukraine. It is difficult to determine the number, as pro-Russian separatists control several border crossings and troops are routinely moving back and forth across the border. | |
| "Further, Russian special forces are operating in Ukraine, and they are difficult to detect," Lt Col Janzen added. | |
| Ukrainian officials have repeatedly stated that thousands of heavy-armed Russian troops remain positioned on Ukraine's eastern border. | |
| On Tuesday, Ukrainian military journalist Dmytro Tymchuk said a Russian troops build-up also continued in northern Crimea, where "several air defence systems were moved". |