Russia's defence minister told his US counterpart Monday the country's troops had returned to barracks after conducting exercises on the border with Ukraine, and urged Washington to dial down the rhetoric. "Russia was forced to launch large-scale exercises near the border with Ukraine, facing the prospect of (Ukrainian) military action against civilians," Sergei Shoigu said, according to a defence ministry statement. "Once the Ukrainian authorities declared that they would not use regular military units against the unarmed population, the Russian troops returned to barracks."