A pro-Russian rebel walks past a burning house after shelling in the town of Donetsk, Ukraine, on Sunday, October 5. Fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels in the country has left more than 3,000 people dead since mid-April, according to the United Nations. 
An Ukrainian sniper aims his weapon at a checkpoint near Popasna, Ukraine, on Thursday, October 2. 
Smoke rises from the area near the Donetsk airport after heavy shelling on October 2. 
An injured man is transported at a hospital after shelling in Donetsk on Wednesday, October 1. 
A woman injured at a bus station cries at a Donetsk hospital on October 1. 
A pro-Russian rebel guards a damaged school in Donetsk on October 1. 
Ukrainian servicemen patrol in the Donetsk region on Friday, September 26. 
A pro-Russian rebel guards a destroyed bridge in Nyzhnya Krynka, Ukraine, on Tuesday, September 23. 
Residents clean up debris at a building damaged by rockets in Debaltseve, Ukraine, on Monday, September 22. 
A firefighter checks out a damaged office building after shelling in Donetsk on Sunday, September 21. 
A Ukrainian soldier guards pro-Russian rebels during a prisoner exchange near Donetsk on September 21. 
Members of the Ukrainian military, held as prisoners of war, sit in a bus waiting to be exchanged near Donetsk on Saturday, September 20. 
Smoke rises after an explosion at a weapons factory controlled by pro-Russian rebels near Donetsk on September 20. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. 
A Ukrainian helicopter patrols an area near Donetsk on September 20. 
A firefighter walks past the rubble of a building destroyed by shelling in Donetsk on Wednesday, September 17. 
A protester holds a smoke bomb during a demonstration outside the Presidential Palace in Kiev, Ukraine, on September 17. Activists protested the adoption of legislation giving greater autonomy to rebel-held parts of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions. 
A man covers the body of his mother, who was killed on a bus during a battle in Donetsk on Tuesday, September 16. 
People walk through a market Monday, September 15, in the Kievsky district of Donetsk. 
Smoke rises around the Donetsk International Airport on Saturday, September 13, as shelling continues between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian army. 
A Ukrainian soldier stands guard as residents rally in support of a united Ukraine in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol on September 13. 
Russian trucks, flying Russian flags and carrying humanitarian aid for eastern Ukraine, line up at a border checkpoint in Donetsk on September 13. 
Workers unload supplies from Russia in Luhansk, Ukraine, on September 13. More than 200 Russian trucks entered Ukraine with supplies for the city, which has been cut off from electricity and water for weeks. 
Ukrainian soldiers ride on an armored vehicle near Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on September 13. 
People look at a large crater from a reported missile strike that hit a bus station Friday, September 12, in Makiivka, Ukraine. 
Workers clear rubble Thursday, September 11, after the bombing of a mine in Donetsk. 
A column of Ukrainian forces is seen in Volnovakha, Ukraine, on September 11. 
An elderly woman sits next to a Ukrainian soldier standing guard in Volnovakha on September 11. 
Armed pro-Russian rebels walk September 11 in front of the destroyed Luhansk International Airport. The rebels took control of the airport on September 1 after heavy fighting with the Ukrainian army. 
Residents of Lutuhyne, Ukraine, push containers in a wheelbarrow September 11 as they walk between destroyed armored vehicles left behind by the Ukrainian army. 
Ukrainian troops protect themselves from a nearby shooting in Debaltseve on Tuesday, September 9. 
Young residents of Berdyansk, Ukraine, dig trenches September 9 to help Ukrainian forces protect the city from possible rebel attacks. 
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, left, inspects military personnel during a visit to Mariupol on Monday, September 8. 
A pro-Russian rebel stands next to a truck with a heavy machine gun attached to it Sunday, September 7, in Donetsk. 
Homes smolder after being hit by shelling in Donetsk on September 7. 
A woman stands next to a road sign September 7 after an overnight bombing attack at an Ukrainian army checkpoint on the outskirts of Mariupol. 
Ukrainian troops stand on a deserted road as they patrol the border area of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions Friday, September 5, near Debaltseve. 
A man repairs damage to a building caused by shelling in Donetsk on September 5. 
Smoke rises on the outskirts of Mariupol after pro-Russian rebels fired heavy artillery on September 5. 
Ukrainian soldiers ride a tank on a road close to where pro-Russian rebels fired heavy artillery outside Mariupol on September 5. 
A wounded Ukrainian soldier is helped by a medical team on the outskirts of Mariupol on September 5. 
A pro-Russian rebel holds a destroyed weapon in the village of Novokaterynivka, Ukraine, on Thursday, September 4. 
Unmarked military vehicles burn on a country road in Berezove, Ukraine, on September 4 after a clash between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels. For months, Ukrainian government forces have been fighting the rebels near Ukraine's eastern border with Russia. 
People wait by their cars near Berezove on September 4 as rockets hit the road ahead. 
A pro-Russian rebel holds a dog, which has a hand grenade attached to its leash, in Donetsk on Wednesday, September 3. 
Pro-Russian rebels fire at Ukrainian army positions in Donetsk on September 3. 
A Ukrainian military vehicle patrols in the Donetsk region on September 3. 
Pro-Russian rebels hold a man near a column of destroyed Ukrainian military vehicles in Novokaterynivka on Tuesday, September 2. 
A Ukrainian military truck passes by a serviceman resting in his military camp in Ukraine's Donetsk region on September 2. 
A destroyed Ukrainian military vehicle sits abandoned on the side of the road near Novokaterynivka on September 2. 
Men clear rubble in Ilovaisk, Ukraine, on Sunday, August 31. 
Ukrainian troops leave the rebel-held town of Starobesheve on Saturday, August 30. 
A Ukrainian loyalist fighter from the Azov Battalion stands guard on a hill on the outskirts of Mariupol on August 30. 
A pro-Russian rebel listens to the news on a transistor radio in the town of Novoazovsk, Ukraine, on Friday, August 29. 
Ukrainian soldiers stop on a roadside as they wait for the start of their march into Mariupol on Wednesday, August 27. 
A man opens a box filled with rocket-propelled grenades left by the Ukrainian army in Starobesheve. 
A pro-Russian rebel walks through a local market damaged by shelling in Donetsk on Tuesday, August 26. 
Ukrainian servicemen of the volunteer battalion Azov leave for Novoazovsk on August 26. 
Pro-Russian rebels escort captured Ukrainian soldiers in a central square in Donetsk on Sunday, August 24. 
People yell as Ukrainian prisoners are paraded through Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on August 24. 
A pro-Russian rebel delivers a speech atop a damaged Ukrainian armored personnel carrier in Donetsk on August 24. 
People look at damaged Ukrainian military equipment in Donetsk on August 24. 
The first trucks of a Russian aid convoy roll on the main road to Luhansk in eastern Ukraine on Friday, August 22. The head of Ukraine's security service called the convoy a "direct invasion" under the guise of humanitarian aid since it entered the country without Red Cross monitors. 
A pro-Russian rebel holds shrapnel from a rocket after shelling in Donetsk on August 22. 
Residents sit in a makeshift bomb shelter during a shelling in Makiivka on Wednesday, August 20. 
Dogs play together as a Russian convoy carrying aid supplies stops at a border control point with Ukraine on August 20. 
Ukrainian forces take their position not far from Luhansk on August 20. 
Clouds of smoke are on the horizon as Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels clash in Yasynuvata, Ukraine, on Tuesday, August 19. 
An Ukrainian helicopter flies near Kramatorsk on August 19. 
Ukrainian soldiers load a missile during fighting with pro-Russian rebels Monday, August 18, near Luhansk. 
Boys play at a refugee camp, set up by the Russian Emergencies Ministry, near the Russian-Ukrainian border on August 18. 
Ukrainian soldiers carry weapons at a checkpoint near Debaltseve on Saturday, August 16. 
Pro-Russian rebels greet each other as they pass near Krasnodon, Ukraine, on August 16. 
A fireman tries to extinguish a fire after shelling in Donetsk on August 16. 
Ukrainian border guards patrol near Novoazovsk on Friday, August 15. 
Trucks of a Russian humanitarian convoy are parked in a field outside the town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, in the Rostov region of Russia about 20 miles from the Ukraine border, on August 15. Ukrainian officials were preparing to inspect the convoy, which was bound for the conflict-torn east. 
A truck driver from the convoy jumps out of a trailer on August 15. The Ukrainian government had expressed fears that the convoy was a large-scale effort to smuggle supplies or troops to pro-Russian rebels. 
A tank belonging to pro-Russian rebels moves along a street in Donetsk on August 15. 
A Ukrainian soldier walks past a line of self-propelled guns as a column of military vehicles prepares to head to the front line near Ilovaisk on Thursday, August 14. 
A Ukrainian soldier prepares a mortar at a position near Ilovaisk on August 14. 
A man inspects damage at his house after a shelling in Donetsk on August 14. 
A convoy of trucks, which Moscow said was carrying relief goods for war-weary civilians, moves from Voronezh, Russia, toward Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on August 14. 
Pro-Russian rebels on the outskirts of Donetsk stand at a checkpoint near a bullet-riddled bus on Wednesday, August 13. 
A pro-Russian rebel inspects damage after shelling in Donetsk on Thursday, August 7. 
Smoke billows from a Ukrainian fighter jet crash near the village of Zhdanivka, Ukraine, on August 7. 
Residents of eastern Ukraine cry in a hospital basement being used as a bomb shelter August 7 in Donetsk. 
Ordnance from a Ukrainian rocket launcher shoots toward a pro-Russian militant position in the Donetsk region on August 7. 
Relatives of Ukrainian military member Kyril Andrienko, who died in combat in eastern Ukraine, gather during his funeral in Lviv, Ukraine, on August 7. 
Refugees from southeastern Ukraine wait at a refugee camp in Donetsk on Wednesday, August 6. 
A pro-Russian rebel adjusts his weapon in Donetsk on August 6. 
Men walk past a bomb crater in Donetsk on August 6. 
A man steps out of his car as Ukrainian soldiers inspect the vehicle at a checkpoint in Debaltseve on August 6. 
Ukrainian servicemen sit on a bus near Slovyansk, Ukraine, on Tuesday, August 5. 
A pro-Russian separatist guards a road as Australian, Malaysian and Dutch investigators prepare to examine the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 near the village of Rossipne, Ukraine, on August 5. U.S. and Ukrainian officials allege that a Russian-made missile shot down the plane from rebel-held territory, killing all 298 people on board. Russia and the rebel fighters deny involvement. 
Rescue workers carry the body of a woman who was killed during a bomb shelling in Donetsk on August 5. 
A boy stands in a hallway of a refugee hostel run by pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk on Monday, August 4. 
Ukrainian servicemen from the Donbass volunteer battalion clean their guns Sunday, August 3, in Popasna, Ukraine. 
Ukrainian soldiers fire shells toward rebel positions near Pervomaysk, Ukraine, on Saturday, August 2. 
Ukrainian troops patrol near the village of Novoselovka on Thursday, July 31. 
A woman says goodbye to her mother as she flees her home in Shakhtersk, Ukraine, on Tuesday, July 29. See more photos of the crisis from earlier this year
- NEW: Ukrainian teams will be granted access to MH17 crash site, Dutch official says
- Russia says the troops were stationed near the border for training exercises
- But the troop presence has been viewed as a threat to invade Ukraine
- It's not clear whether the withdrawal has actually taken place
Moscow (CNN) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered 17,600 troops near the Ukrainian border to return to their bases, state-run media reported.
The reason? The Russian troops' training exercises in the southern Rostov region have ended, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.
'The 12 Labors of Putin' 
New NATO chief touts Russia relationship But many did not believe such exercises were taking place. The troop buildup near the Ukrainian border has been widely interpreted as a threat to invade eastern Ukraine.
If the troops do indeed leave the border area, the withdrawal could mark a removal of that threat. So far, NATO has not confirmed whether the troops have actually began to withdraw.
Tensions in the region have flared since April, when separatist leaders in Ukraine declared independence from Kiev and violence broke out in two Ukrainian regions that border Russia.
The conflict between the pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian military has cost more than 2,500 lives, according to the United Nations.
War: What is it good for?
Russia's announcement of the troop pullback comes as Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko prepare to meet in Milan on sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting later this month.
In another sign that tensions have cooled somewhat, Ukrainian emergency services will be granted passage Monday to the site in rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine where Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed in July.
After negotiations led by the Organization for the Security and Co-operation in Europe, Ukrainian teams will be allowed to gather belongings of crash victims at the site and from locals in the area, Dutch Security and Justice Ministry Spokesman Jean Fransman told CNN.
Ukraine and Russia have been under a shaky cease-fire since last month, when government officials from the two countries as well as rebel leaders from eastern Ukraine hashed out a deal in Belarus.
Yet the bloodshed continued.
Ten civilians were killed when a school in the city of Donetsk was shelled, according to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
And one day later, Swiss Red Cross worker Laurent DuPasquier was killed when a shell landed near an International Committee of the Red Cross building in Donetsk.
Matthew Chance reported from Moscow; Holly Yan wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report.
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