Russia has said it is to “drastically reduce” forces near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv as its invasion continues to falter.
The announcement was made by the Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin and comes as a fresh round of peace negotiations get under way.
Fomin said Russian forces will also be reduced in Chernigiv region.
Moscow had decided to fund “cut back military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv to increase mutual trust and create conditions for further negotiations”, he said.
In the wake of the announcement, the Ukrainian military leadership had said it had began to notice Russian troop withdrawals from Kyiv and Chernihiv.
Previous announcements of Russian troop withdrawals have been greeted with scepticism.
But the Ukrainian re-taking of the town of Irpin near Kyiv along with huge Russian losses throughout Ukraine will add more credibility to the latest Kremlin announcement.
Vladimir Putin expected a quick victory when he ordered the invasion of Ukraine but his forces have met stiff resistance.
The death Russian death toll has reached as high as 15,000 with several generals and other top commanders among those killed.
In recent days Ukraine said its troops had pushed Russian forces back from Irpin, near Kyiv.
The Ukrainians managed to reoccupy towns and defensive positions up to 21 miles east of the capital.
Despite the victories, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned there would still be hard fighting to come.
