Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,143

A reduction in the number of US soldiers in Eastern Europe would be seen as Washington moving another step closer to Moscow and a worrying sign for Europeans, according to analysts. The NBC news channel, quoting US and European sources, said this week that the US Department of Defense was looking at the withdrawal of 10,000 troops from Europe. President Putin announced billions in investments for the rearmament of his country's navy. "In the next decade, 8.4 trillion roubles [around 97bn] are earmarked for the construction of new boats and ships for the navy," Putin said at a meeting on navy development in Saint Petersburg, according to Russian news agencies. Putin said the navy would develop drone and robot technology, and he claimed that 49 warships of various classes have been built in Russian shipyards in the past five years, including nuclear submarines that can be equipped with new Zircon hypersonic missiles.