The Kremlin announced President Vladimir Putin had ordered Russian forces near Ukraine back to their bases, but NATO and the United States said they saw no sign of a pullback and Moscow had failed to carry out such promises before, according to the Associated Press.
Moscow has gathered tens of thousands of troops near the border regions where pro-Russian separatists have declared independent states, and Kiev and its Western allies fear they could be used to invade in support of the rebels, the AP reported.
Ukrainian border guards said there had indeed been a decrease in Russian military activity close to the border, but the United States and the Western military alliance said there was no indication troops had pulled back, the AP reported.
"Unfortunately, I have to say that we haven't seen any evidence at all that the Russians have started a withdrawal of troops from the Ukraine borders," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a news conference in Brussels, according to the AP.
Ukraine is set to hold a presidential election on Sunday which Western countries consider a crucial event in resolving the country's crisis, according to the AP. The United States and EU have threatened to ramp up sanctions on Moscow if it interferes in the vote.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the United States had seen reports Putin had ordered Russian troops back to bases but "at this point we see no indication of any movement," the AP reported.
Putin declared the right to send forces to Ukraine to protect Russian-speakers if necessary in March and quickly annexed Ukraine's Crimea region, after a pro-Russian president was toppled in street demonstrations in Kiev in February, according to the AP.
Armed rebels, many led by a Muscovite enthusiast of historical battle re-enactments, have seized towns and cities in eastern Russia and held a vote on independence which Western countries describe as a sham, the AP reported.
