Russia Says It Is Pulling Back Some Troops From Around Ukraine: Latest News

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MOSCOW — Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that some of the troops gathered around Ukraine were being loaded onto trains and trucks and sent back to their garrisons, a tentative sign that Russia could be stepping away from the threat of an invasion.

The Defense Ministry’s announcement was the most concrete signal yet that Russia might be trying to de-escalate the military standoff on the Ukrainian border, but it was far from clear that the threat of war had passed. It was unclear how many troops were being pulled back, and a Defense Ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said that some military exercises that have raised fears of an attack against Ukraine — including in Belarus and in the Black Sea — were continuing.

Defense Minister Sergei K. Shoigu on Monday appeared to characterize Russia’s enormous troop buildup around Ukraine as part of “large-scale drills” being carried out by the military. He told President Vladimir V. Putin in a stage-managed meeting broadcast on state television that some of those drills were now ending.

On Tuesday, Mr. Konashenkov said in a televised statement that some troops were already heading back to their bases.

“Units of the southern and western military districts, having completed their tasks, have already begun loading onto rail and road transport and will begin moving to their military garrisons today,” he said.

“A number of combat training events, including exercises, have been carried out according to plan,” Mr. Konashenkov said. “As the combat training events are completed, the troops, as always, will march in a combined way to their permanent deployment points.”

The troops that Mr. Konashenkov said are being pulled back are from the military districts closest to Ukraine — meaning troops will remain relatively close to the country even if they are pulled back to their bases. His statement indicated that troops that have arrived in the region from farther away — Siberia and Russia’s Far East — would remain deployed near Ukraine for now.

U.S. officials have estimated that Russia has amassed more than 130,000 troops around Ukraine, and continued to add to the buildup in recent days. NATO officials say that about 30,000 Russian troops have been deployed to Belarus, including near Ukraine’s northern border, for exercises that are scheduled to end on Sunday.

The Defense Ministry’s announcement came as the West’s diplomatic scramble to avert an invasion continued. Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany was scheduled to meet with Mr. Putin in Moscow on Tuesday.