MOSCOW. May 26 (Interfax) - The troops from Russia's Western and Southern Military Districts, which were holding routine drills at training sites near the Russian-Ukrainian border, have started returning to their bases, the chief of the Russian General Staff, Army Gen. Valery Gerasimov, said on Friday.
"It will take about 20 days," Gerasimov told reporters at a security conference in Moscow.
Asked whether the troops are due to return by June 1, Gerasimov said: "This date was not stipulated."
Military transport aircraft and railroads are being used to redeploy the troops, he said.
The troops' withdrawal began on May 19, Gerasimov said.
There has been a lot of hype in the Ukrainian media recently over the so-called Russian threat, he said. "All these are conjectures which were not confirmed by objective data. The troops of the Central and Western military districts were taking part in routine drills that we hold annually. There were no additional troops there, which was confirmed by more than ten inspection groups," Gerasimov said.