Putin Pulls Troops Off Ukraine Border

Speaking Wednesday during a meeting with Switzerland's president, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he pulled his forces back from the border with Ukraine. “We’re always being told that our forces on the Ukrainian border are a concern. We have withdrawn them. Today they are not on the Ukrainian border—they are in places where they conduct their regular tasks on training grounds,” Putin said. NATO estimated 40,000 troops were massing there in recent weeks. Putin also said that a referendum in southeast Ukraine planned for May 11 regarding autonomy should be postponed, while the May 25 presidential election in Ukraine is a “step in the right direction.”