“As the combat training measures are completed, the troops, as always, will make marches in a combined way to the points of permanent deployment. The units of the Southern and Western military districts, having completed their tasks, have already begun loading onto rail and road transport and will begin moving to their military garrisons today. Separate units will march on their own as part of military columns,” Konashenkov said.

Russia has deployed about 100,000 troops and military equipment along its border with Ukraine in recent months, fueling fears it might invade its neighbor, an accusation Moscow has continuously rejected.

The ongoing Russo-Ukrainian crisis stems from the protracted Russo-Ukrainian War that began in early 2014.

In December 2021, Russia advanced two draft treaties that contained requests of what it referred to as "security guarantees", including a legally binding promise that Ukraine would not join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as well as a reduction in NATO troops and military hardware stationed in Eastern Europe, and threatened unspecified military response if those demands were not met in full.

NATO has rejected these requests, and the United States warned Russia of "swift and severe" economic sanctions should it further invade Ukraine.

The crisis has been described by some commentators as one of the most intense since the Cold War. (ILKHA)