Today's D Brief: Russia to draw down near Ukraine; Indonesia hunts for sub; Panel pushes change in sex-assault cases; SecDef calls climate crisis “existential threatâ€; And a bit more.
By Ben Watson
April 23, 2021
The D Brief
Russia says it’s withdrawing troops from its tense border region with Ukraine, claiming Moscow’s training exercises that drew the world’s attention are finally ending. “I think the goals of the readiness test are achieved fully,†Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted in state-run media TASS as saying — with a May 1 date for Russian troops returning to their barracks.
A “partial pullback,†is how the New York Times described Thursday’s developments, noting that Shoigu’s “order specified that troops departing from one large field camp about 100 miles from the border with the eastern Ukrainian region known as Donbas should leave their armored vehicles there until the fall.â€
Involved: Russia's 58th and 41st armies, “as well as several airborne divisions," according to the BBC. Those units are expected to begin their return trips today, and will run through the end of next week.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/04/the-d-brief-april-23-2021/173562/
