Ukraine negotiating troop withdrawal from Crimea

The government of Ukraine is negotiating the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Crimea.

Ukrainian Armed Forces' Deputy Chief of the Main Command Center Major-General Oleksandr Rozmaznin briefed the Cabinet Ministers on the logistics of the withdrawal, including negotiations over whether the Ukrainian troops will be able to depart the now Russian-controlled region with their weapons.

The withdrawal "will happen very soon," Rozmaznin said. "Even if there are no weapons, the people are what matters. And the weapons will be taken from arms depots."

When asked how many Ukrainian troops had defected to the Russian Armed Forces, Rozmaznin responded: "About fifty percent."

Ukrainian military units are expected to depart Crimea through the town of Krasnoperekopsk on the Perekop Isthmus and the town of Chonhar in Kherson region.

[Interfax Ukraine News Agency]