Over 1,000 Russian soldiers leave Ukraine

The number of Russian soldiers in Ukraine’s Donbas conflict zone has dropped by 1,000.

The press center of the Ukrainian government’s Anti-Terrorist Operation headquarters wrote on its Facebook page on Tuesday.

"Instead of [using] regular Russian units, the self-proclaimed republics are trying to create their own armed forces units,” the press center wrote.

“Thus, the militant leaders have announced the creation in Donetsk of a regiment of internal troops of the People’s Republic of Donetsk."

Russia denies having sent its troops into east Ukraine, but there is increasing evidence that Moscow was heavily involved in fomenting the armed insurgency in the east of the country in April, and supporting it with troops, supplies and equipment ever since.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also denied that Russian troops had been deployed to annex the Ukrainian territory of Crimea in March, but he later admitted that they had been. The troops were deployed in unmarked uniforms to take over key Ukrainian security facilities in the peninsula.