Moscow: Russia said Tuesday it was pulling back some of its forces near the Ukrainian border to their bases, in what could be the first major step towards de-escalation in weeks of crisis with the West.
Moscow released few details and there was no immediate outside confirmation of the withdrawal, which the Kremlin said had always been planned despite Western "hysteria" over a feared invasion of Ukraine.
It came amid an intense diplomatic effort to avert a war in Europe after Russia amassed more than 100,000 troops on the borders of its pro-Western neighbour.
Western leaders accused Moscow of preparing for a possible invasion, a claim Russia repeatedly denied, and threatened wide-ranging sanctions if an attack took place.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels there were "grounds for cautious optimism" in signs coming from Russia, but warned: "We have not seen any sign of de-escalation on the ground."
In Moscow, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz became the latest world leader to meet Vladimir Putin in recent days, sitting for talks with the Kremlin leader that were to finish with a news conference later Tuesday.
On the streets of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, residents enjoying bright winter sunshine were warily optimistic, and grateful that Ukraine and its allies appeared to have held their nerve.
"There is no panic in society... You see how many people are walking around, they are all smiling, they are all happy," lawyer Artem Zaluznyi, 22, told AFP on the city's main thoroughfare, Khreschatyk Street.
But there was also caution, with many doubting that Russia would honour any promise to withdraw.
"To believe it fully would be neither smart nor wise," Zaluznyi said.
The crisis -- the worst between Russia and the West since the Cold War ended -- reached a peak this week, with US officials warning a full-scale invasion, including an assault on Kyiv, was possible within days.
Washington took the dramatic step on Monday of relocating its embassy in Kyiv to the western city of Lviv, after previously urging US citizens to leave Ukraine.
On Tuesday morning, the Russian defence ministry spokesman said some forces deployed near Ukraine had completed their exercises and were packing up to leave.
"Units of the southern and western military districts, having completed their tasks, have already begun loading onto rail and road transport and today they will begin moving to their military garrisons," the ministry's chief spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said in a statement.
