Putin orders troops in military exercise back to base

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops that took part in military exercises this week to return to base, Russian news agencies quoted the Kremlin spokesman as saying, according to Reuters news agency

The military exercises, which Moscow denied were linked to events in Ukraine, had been a success, Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

The exercises took place across western Russia, an area which borders Ukraine.

The decision comes despite ousted leader Viktor Yanukovich’s letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin requesting that he use the Russian military to restore law and order in Ukraine.

“Under the influence of Western countries, there are open acts of terror and violence,” Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin quoted the letter from Yanukovich to Putin in an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council.

“People are being persecuted for language and political reasons,” he quoted the letter as saying.

“So in this regard I would call on the President of Russia, Mr. Putin, asking him to use the armed forces of the Russian Federation to establish legitimacy, peace, law and order, stability and defending the people of Ukraine.”

Churkin held up a copy of the letter for council members to see.