RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin ordered troops deployed near Ukraine today to withdraw and praised the launch of dialogue between Kiev and its opponents even as fighting continued in eastern Ukraine.

He ordered Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to pull back forces involved in “planned spring drills” in the Rostov, Belgorod and Bryansk regions to their home bases. 

The order appears to go further than a similar statement by the Russian leader two weeks ago that troops were being pulled back from the border to firing ranges.

The three regions border Ukraine and withdrawal of troops deployed there would signal an attempt by Moscow to de-escalate the crisis.

The Kremlin statement didn’t say how many troops would be pulled out or how quick the withdrawal would be.

Kiev’s Foreign Ministry urged Moscow to also cancel an air force exercise, set to take place in south-western Russia between Wednesday and Sunday and involving over 70 combat aircraft.