Russia defence minister orders troops away from Ukraine border - report

Russia's President Vladimir Putin waves as he arrives at the airport ahead of the fourth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) held in Shanghai, May 20, 2014. REUTERS/Ng Han Guan/Pool

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's defence minister has told troops to return to their permanent bases after military exercises near the border with Ukraine, fulfilling an order from President Vladimir Putin, Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday.

The Kremlin announced on Monday that Putin had ordered Russian forces near Ukraine back to their bases, but NATO and the United States said they saw no sign of a pullback. Moscow has failed to carry out such promises before.