EU watching Russian troop movements closelypublished at 10:35 Greenwich Mean Time 15 February 2022

10:35 GMT 15 February 2022

Jessica Parker
BBC Brussels correspondent

There's no sense of huge relief here in Brussels… yet.

Rather, a wariness. Officials and diplomats are waiting to see whether this is the start of a significant de-escalation or simply, more "manouvering".

One thing that I understand will be closely observed is not just the numbers of troops being withdrawn but also whether military hardware is taken back with them.

So don't expect any big, bold statements out of the European Commission today. Caution will be the watchword.

The news of some Russian troops moving away from Ukraine's border has been received as a potential step towards de-escalation, but is it a sign of Russian President Putin backing off?

Prof Sergey Radchenko, from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, says Russia's narrative has always been that it's not threatening anyone and that its troops are just doing exercises.

He likened Putin's tactics to "cooking a broth" where he can turn the gas up or down, to create tension, as he sees fit.

Asked about Putin's aims, he says the Russian president may not be able to reach his goal of preventing Ukraine's eventual Nato membership. But by raising tensions he might be able to get some concessions from the West and Ukraine.

He adds that if Russia doesn't invade Ukraine observers will say it has been deterred. But Russia, he says, will say it never intended to do so.

More from the top EU diplomat's interview with us earlier.

Josep Borrell made a timely intervention as the German chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin. He says a key gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany - Nordstream 2 - could not get up and running if conflict were to erupt.

"If there is a war between Russia and Ukraine, Nordstream 2 would not become operational," he said.

Scholz has faced criticism for his response to the tensions. He isn't expected to scrap Nord Stream 2, despite US President Joe Biden saying the scheme would be halted if Russia invades.

On Monday, after meeting Ukraine's president in Kyiv, Scholz said there were differences between Germany and Ukraine on the issue. But he added that no-one should doubt the readiness of Germany to punish Russia if it attacked Ukraine.

Russia has finished building the controversial pipeline but German regulators are yet to approve its use.

Russia must pull back all of its remaining forces from the countries' shared frontier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says.

"We have a rule: don't believe what you hear, believe what you see," he tells journalists following reports some Russian troops were returning to base. "When we see a withdrawal, we will believe in a de-escalation."

He adds that the diplomatic route Ukraine was pursuing with its allies is working at preventing further escalation.

Diplomatic efforts are continuing, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arriving in Moscow, where he is due to meet President Valdimir Putin.

Ahead of the meeting, he attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin Wall.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

The European Union's top diplomat says it must be accepted that everyone has security concerns, including Russia.

The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell tells the BBC that "in order to fulfil the concerns of everybody, the only way is sitting at the table and discussing".

Addressing a key Russian concern - the possibility of Ukraine joining the Nato military alliance - Borrell says the country is not yet a member.

"It's a possibility," he says, "but in practical terms today Ukraine is not a member of Nato".

The UK's foreign secretary says in order to believe Russia's insistence it has no plans to invade Ukraine it must remove all its troops amassed near its border with the country.

"The Russians have claimed that they have no plans for an invasion, but we will need to see a full scale removal of troops to show that is true," Liz Truss told LBC radio this morning.

When asked about media reports that some Russian troops were returning to base from the border area, Truss says she needs to see more details to understand if it has major implications.

Adam Fleming
Chief political correspondent

The British government is waiting to see the scale of the reported Russian withdrawal, with one source saying it would have to make a difference to the ability to invade to be meaningful.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to hold a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra meeting on Tuesday to discuss the UK's response to the crisis.

As Moscow announces it's withdrawing some troops from the Ukrainian border, we're hearing reaction from the country's foreign ministry.

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram: "February 15, 2022 will go into history as the day Western war propaganda failed. They have been disgraced and destroyed without a single shot being fired."

Unnamed US officials told reporters last week that a Russian invasion could happen as soon as today.

Russia has massed troops near Ukraine's borders for months but argued it could move its armed forces wherever it wanted on its own territory.

We've just heard that some Russian troops are being moved away from the Ukraine border and after days of dire warnings of an imminent invasion, markets have calmed in response to the news.

The Russian rouble has also strengthened against the dollar and euro in response to the news from the Russian military.

"The absence of armed action on the Ukraine border and indications about the willingness to talk seem sufficient to soothe market nerves," said Michael Leister, head of interest rates strategy at Commerzbank.

In comments carried by the Interfax news agency, Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov says:

But some exercises are still ongoing, Konashenkov says.

Another large-scale exercise in the region, the joint Russian-Belarusian Union Resolve war games, is due to end on 20 February.

Russia had positioned about 130,000 troops close to Ukraine's border, including about 30,000 troops taking part in military exercises in Belarus.

Here's more on what Liz Truss said a bit earlier, before Russia announced some of its troops were returning to their bases.

Speaking on the Today programme, the foreign secretary says there should not be any "rewards" for Russian aggression as this would just encourage further aggression in the future.

"It's very important that there aren't concessions given over Ukraine's sovereignty, over Ukraine's decision whether to become part of Nato," she adds.

Russia wants assurances Ukraine will not be allowed to join the Western military alliance but its members have opposed this.

Russia's defence ministry says some troops positioned on the border with Ukraine are returning to their bases after completing drills, according to Interfax news agency.

But large-scale drills across the country continue, Interfax adds.

The UK foreign secretary says the government still believes an invasion of Ukraine is "very likely" despite Russia’s foreign minister saying the possibilities for diplomacy are "far from exhausted".

"It could be imminent," Liz Truss tells BBC Breakfast.

"We know the Russians are highly prepared, they have the troops surrounding Ukraine and they could do it in very short order.

"But it isn't certain and there is still time for diplomacy. There's still time for Russia to step back from the brink," she adds.

Asked if an invasion could come as soon as Wednesday, cited by US officials as a possible date when Russia could attack, she says: "It could be immediate. We know that the Russians are ready to invade."

Welcome back to our live coverage of the Ukraine crisis. It's another important day for efforts to try to avoid a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The German chancellor, Olaf Sholz, will meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow later. He'll repeat warnings from other Western leaders of tough sanctions against Russia if it attacks Ukraine.

But he's not expected to end the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, which benefits both Germany and Russia.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Joe Biden held a phone call on Monday where they agreed a "window for diplomacy" remains and a deal is still possible to avoid a conflict.

That came after a choreographed meeting between Putin and his foreign minister, who said the diplomatic possibilities were far from being exhausted. The comments were seen as a clear concession that talks could ease the tensions.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest developments and analysis.

Thank for you for joining the BBC's live online coverage of the military tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border.

We're pausing our live reporting for now, but here are the latest news lines:

• Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Joe Biden held a private phone call where they agreed that a "window for diplomacy" remains open for now
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told President Putin agreement with the West was still possible
• Governments are continuing to call for their citizens to leave Ukraine while they still can. It comes as Washington announces the temporary closure of its Kyiv embassy

• Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky declared Wednesday to be a national "Day of Unity". He called for the Ukrainian flag to be prominently displayed and for the national anthem to be played in public
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met the Ukrainian leader in Kyiv and warned of "very far-reaching sanctions" on Russia if it invades

Our coverage was provided by: Alys Davies, Harriet Agerholm, Jeremy Gahagan, Jasmine Taylor-Coleman, James Clarke, Matt Murphy, Mary O'Connor, James Harness, Adam Durbin, Tiffany Wertheimer, Jen Meierhans, Becky Morton and Max Matza.

Frantic efforts to deter invasion continuepublished at 20:00 Greenwich Mean Time 14 February 2022

20:00 GMT 14 February 2022

Paul Adams
BBC diplomatic correspondent

Everything President Putin needs to mount a full-scale invasion is in place. In the words of one senior western official, the Russian leader could order the attack “at the drop of a hat.”

Intelligence officials have been giving sobering details of how they think an attack on Ukraine could unfold, with a lightning advance on the capital Kyiv in an effort to neutralise the government within days.

Other operations - mounted simultaneously or in sequence - could be launched north from Russian annexed Crimea.

Frantic efforts to stop all this continue.

Germany’s Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has been here in Kyiv today and will meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow tomorrow.

He carries one powerful bargaining chip in his pocket – his government’s willingness to include the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany in the sprawling package of sanctions being threatened by the west, should Russia invade again.

Russia continues to insist that it has no plans to do this, and here in Ukraine, a senior national security official, Oleksiy Danilov, said Ukraine's government still does not see a risk of a full-scale offensive. The situation, he said, is completely under control.

UK PM Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden agreed that there is still a "crucial window for diplomacy and for Russia to step back from its threats towards Ukraine", during a phone call today.

According to a Downing Street statement, the leaders also said that an invasion would result in a "protracted crisis for Russia, with far reaching damage for both Russia and the world".

Johnson and Biden also reiterated the need for European countries to lessen their dependence on Russian energy.

Earlier this afternoon we heard UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss say that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could happen immediately.

However Russia is adamant it has no plans to attack Ukraine and has condemned "dangerous lies" being spread by the West.

An estimated 100,000 Russian troops are deployed close to Ukraine's borders and a reported 30,000 more are engaged in exercises with close ally Belarus, near its 1,084km (674 miles) border with Ukraine.

We examine the situation here.

Image source, Getty Images

The US is relocating its embassy from the capital of Kyiv to the city of Lviv in the west of the country, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said in a statement.

Blinken said the move is due to a "dramatic acceleration" in the build up of Russian forces on the Ukrainian border.

Non-essential staff had already been ordered to leave the embassy, although a small contingent remained to handle emergencies.

He added, "we strongly urge any remaining US citizens in Ukraine to leave the country immediately."

Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and Canada have also said they will move some or all of their diplomatic functions to Lviv.