Moscow: Russia said on Tuesday that some units participating in military exercises would begin returning to their bases, adding that the Kremlin is not planning to invade Ukraine, though it gave no details on the pullback.
The announcement came a day after Russia's foreign minister indicated the country was ready to keep talking about the security grievances that led to the Ukraine crisis changing the tenor after weeks of rising tensions.
Still, Western officials continued to warn that an invasion could come at any moment and said some forces and military hardware were moving toward the border, muddying the picture.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Moscow is ready for talks with the US and NATO on limits for missile deployments and military transparency.
Speaking after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Putin said the US and NATO rejected Moscow's demand to keep Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations out of NATO, halt weapons deployments near Russian borders and roll back alliance forces from Eastern Europe. They agreed to discuss a range of security measures that Russia had previously proposed.
Putin said that Russia is ready to engage in talks on limits on the deployment of intermediate-range missiles in Europe, transparency of drills and other confidence-building measures but emphasised the need for the West to heed Russia's main demands.
Meanwhile, India, on Tuesday, advised its citizens in Ukraine to temporarily leave that country amid escalating tension between Moscow and the NATO countries over Russia's increasing military build-up close to the Ukrainian border.
In an advisory, the Indian embassy in Kyiv asked Indian nationals to avoid all non-essential travel to and within Ukraine. "In view of the uncertainties of the current situation in Ukraine, Indian nationals in Ukraine, particularly students whose stay is not essential, may consider leaving temporarily," it said.
"Indian nationals are also advised to avoid all non-essential travel to and within Ukraine," the embassy said. The number of Indians residing in Ukraine at present is not immediately known.
According to an official document in 2020, Ukraine had a small but vibrant Indian community and there were about 18,000 Indian students studying in that country. The data is likely to vary in view of the pandemic.
In the advisory, the Indian embassy in Ukraine also asked Indian nationals to keep it informed about their status to enable the mission to reach out to them when required.
On the other hand, it wasn't immediately clear where exactly the troops that the Russian Defense Ministry said were pulling back were deployed or how many were leaving, making it hard to understand the significance. The announcement pushed world markets and the ruble up, but Ukraine's leaders expressed skepticism.
"Russia constantly makes various statements," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. "That's why we have the rule: We won't believe when we hear, we'll believe when we see. When we see troops pulling out, we'll believe in de-escalation."
Russia has massed more than 130,000 troops near Ukraine, sparking the fears of an invasion. Russia denies it has any plans to invade Ukraine, despite placing troops on Ukraine's borders to the north, south and east and launching massive military drills nearby.
The new glimmers of hope accompanied a flurry of diplomacy. Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau of Poland, one of Russia's most strident European critics, was also in Moscow on Tuesday to meet Lavrov, while Ukraine's foreign minister hosted his Italian counterpart.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's comments came at a made-for-TV meeting with Putin and seemed designed to send a message to the world about the Russian leader's position. The foreign minister argued that Moscow should hold more talks, despite the West's refusal to consider Russia's main demands.
"The talks can't go on indefinitely, but I would suggest to continue and expand them at this stage," Lavrov said, noting that Washington has offered to discuss limits for missile deployments in Europe, restrictions on military drills and other confidence-building measures.
Moscow wants guarantees that NATO will not allow Ukraine and other former Soviet countries to join as members. It also wants the alliance to halt weapons deployments to Ukraine and roll back its forces from Eastern Europe.
Lavrov said possibilities for talks are "far from being exhausted."
Putin noted that the West could try to draw Russia into endless talks and questioned whether there is still a chance to reach an agreement. Lavrov replied that his ministry would not allow the US and its allies to stonewall Russia's main requests.
The US reacted coolly.
The path for diplomacy remains available if Russia chooses to engage constructively, White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. "However, we are clear-eyed about the prospects of that, given the steps Russia is taking on the ground in plain sight."
One possible off-ramp emerged this week: Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, pointed at a possibility of Ukraine shelving its NATO bid an objective that is written into its constitution if it would avert war with Russia.
Prystaiko later appeared to back away from the idea, but the fact that it was raised at all suggests it is being discussed behind closed doors.
Even amid the hopeful signs, the US and European countries kept up their warnings.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss reiterated on Tuesday that the danger of an invasion still exists, telling Sky News that it could be imminent. But she added that there is still time for Vladimir Putin to step away from the brink.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt issued a similar warning.
US officials have said the Russian military continued apparent attack preparations along Ukraine's borders. A US defence official said small numbers of Russian ground units have been moving out of larger assembly areas for several days, taking up positions closer to the Ukrainian border at what would be departure points if Putin launched an invasion.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information not publicly released. CBS News was first to report on the movement of the units.
Maxar Technologies, a commercial satellite imagery company that has been monitoring the Russian buildup, reported increased Russian military activity in Belarus, Crimea and western Russia, including the arrival of helicopters, ground-attack aircraft and fighter-bomber jets at forward locations. The photos taken over a 48-hour period also show ground forces leaving their garrisons and combat units moving into convoy formation.
Still, Ukrainian security and defense council chief Oleksiy Danilov downplayed the threat of invasion but warned of the risk of internal destabilization by unspecified forces.