President Vladimir Putin ordered the return at the weekend of 17,600 troops involved in several military drills in the Rostov region, which borders Ukraine.

The order followed a national security council meeting that assessed various threats to Russia, including the Ebola epidemic in Africa, the rise of Isis in Iraq and Syria, the crisis in Ukraine and Moscow’s relations with Washington.

Russian armed forces have staged a number of military exercises in western Russia, including regions bordering Ukraine.

The biggest were held in the central military district in June and were aimed at testing the combat readiness of some 65,000 troops involved.

The drills, especially those held close to Ukraine, were criticised by some Western countries and Nato, which claimed that they were aggressive and provocative.

At the same time, Nato held its own exercises close to the Russian border, including the Rapid Trident exercise held in western Ukraine in mid-September.