Russia has pulled "the majority" of the 40,000 troops it had amassed near the Ukraine border, a U.S. senior defense official said Friday. "But seven battalions remain," meaning thousands of troops are still amassed across the border.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called the move — which Moscow promised weeks ago — a good start. "Any time you are moving troops away and equipment and assets away, that's promising," he told reporters en route to Singapore for a security conference, "but they are not where they need to be and won't be until all of their troops that they positioned along that border a couple of months ago are gone."
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