The first Russian troops returned home on Tuesday from their deployment in Syria, the army said, beginning a partial withdrawal announced by President Vladimir Putin.
“The battalion of military police from the southern military district (of Russia) deployed to the Syrian Arab Republic has been flown by two military planes to Makhachkala (the capital of Dagestan) airport,” the Russian Army said in a statement.
State television broadcast images of soldiers marching out of the aircraft onto a sunny runway. The crews of Tu-22M3 bombers also returned to a military airport in North Ossetia before flying out to their permanent base in central Kaluga region, the army said.
On a visit to Syria on Monday, Mr. Putin ordered the partial withdrawal of Russian troops, saying their task had been largely completed. It was the third announcement of a partial withdrawal since troops were deployed in 2015.
Mr. Putin did not clarify how many soldiers will be returning home this time.
RBK news agency cited sources as saying that Russia will pull out two-thirds of its contingent, both personnel and equipment, from Syria, which could take up to a month.
The size of the Russian deployment in Syria is not known but independent Russian military expert Pavel Felgenhauer has told AFP that up to 10,000 troops and private contractors could have taken part in the conflict.