MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s defense minister has ordered troops back to their permanent bases after a massive exercise in Crimea that involved dozens of navy ships, hundreds of warplanes and thousands of troops in a show of force amid tensions with Ukraine. The maneuvers in Crimea were described as the largest since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula in 2014 and threw its weight behind separatist insurgents in eastern Ukraine. The exercise comes amid increasing violations of a cease-fire in Ukraine’s east and a massive Russian troops buildup on the border with Ukraine that raised Western concerns. The Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday that the Crimean maneuvers involved more than 60 ships, over 10,000 troops and about 1,200 military vehicles.
