Over 2,000 servicemen withdrawn from Crimea - Kyiv
KYIV. April 2 (Interfax) - Over 2,000 servicemen of the Interior and Defense Ministries of Ukraine have been withdrawn from Crimea, acting head of the Ukrainian presidential administration Serhiy Pashynskyi has announced.
"As for the Ukrainian National Guard - there are 890 servicemen and their families, as for the Defense Ministry - there are 1,200 servicemen and their families," he said at a Wednesday briefing.
The process is monitored "by the minute" and the HQ set up with the Cabinet is working on the process, he said. "I assure you that all servicemen, all their family members, all public servants will be withdrawn in compliance with the decree," he said.
As for their further employment, they will be integrated into the existing system of Ukraine's defense, he added.
Pashynskyi said that the withdrawal of military equipment, including ships, from Crimea has begun but is very difficult. "The process is extremely difficult. By now several trains with equipment have arrived in the territory of Ukraine. The process will continue," he said.