Russia says some forces pulling back amid Ukraine crisis

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Pic/ AFP

Russia said on Tuesday that some units participating in military exercises would begin returning to their bases, adding to glimmers of hope that the Kremlin may not be planning to invade Ukraine imminently, 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.

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 amassed 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. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz planned to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, a day after he sat down with Ukraine's leader in Kyiv.

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 agreement. Lavrov replied that his ministry would not allow the U.S. 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 U.S. and European countries kept up their warnings.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss reiterated 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.

"Today we do not see that a large-scale offensive by the Russian Federation can take place either on (Feb.) 16th or the 17th," he told reporters. "We are aware of the risks that exist in the territory of our country. But the situation is absolutely under control."

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