Russian Troops Return Home From Kazakhstan

A military vehicle of Russian peacekeepers of Collective Security Treaty Organization gets ready to be loaded onto a Russian military plane starting to withdraw its troops at an airport outside Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Jan. 13, 2022. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP

MOSCOW—Russia’s defense ministry says the troops that were deployed to Kazakhstan as violent demonstrations shook the country have returned home.

The troops were part of a force sent as peacekeepers by the Collective Treaty Security Organization, a Russia-led military alliance of six former Soviet states. The CSTO approved the force of more than 2,000 on Jan. 5 at the request of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.