Russia's defense ministry said Tuesday that some soldiers were returning to their bases after weeks of being stationed near the Ukrainian border, potentially de-escalating tensions with neighboring Ukraine.
A spokesperson for the ministry said that the units in question had completed their drills, but other large-scale exercises across the country would continue for the time being.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the Ukrainian government would believe that the situation had deescalated only upon witnessing a Russian withdrawal from its borders, the Interfax news agency reported.
"We continuously hear different statements from the Russian federation, so we have a rule ... we believe what we see. If we see the pullout we will believe in de-escalation," he said.
Russia published videos of tanks and other armored vehicles being loaded onto railway flatcars as they were being prepared to be returned to their bases.
On Monday, a senior US official that several Russian military units were moving into attack positions along the Ukrainian border, further raising fears that an invasion was imminent. According to US intelligence assessments, the Russian army was expected to invade Ukraine by the end of this week.