Russia says withdrawing military forces around Ukraine

Moscow: Russia said Friday it had begun withdrawing more tanks and other armoured vehicles from areas near Ukraine's border after running war games that had raised concerns in the West.

"Another military train carrying personnel and military equipment belonging to tank army units of the western military district returned to their permanent bases in the Nizhny Novgorod region after completing scheduled exercises," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.

Separately, it said 10 war planes were pulled back from the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed rebels in the country's east traded fresh accusations of shelling and other ceasefire violations on Friday, Reuters reported.

Kyiv and the rebels blamed each other for the escalation after artillery and mortar attacks on Thursday, prompting fears that Russia, which has massed over 100,000 troops near Ukrane's borders, could get involved.

The Kremlin said on Thursday it was "deeply concerned" with the flare-up in Ukraine and was watching the situation closely.