Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Germany's chancellor on Tuesday after the Kremlin signaled that it was still possible for diplomacy to head off what Western officials have said could be an imminent invasion of Ukraine.In another possible sign that the Kremlin would like to lower the temperature raised by its amassing of troops bear Ukraine's border, Russia announced that some units participating in military exercises would begin returning to their bases.But much remains unclear about Russia's plans and how the latest crisis over Ukraine will play out.Here맥스카지노�s a look at what is happening where and why:WHAT IS THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT SAYING?Russia맥스카지노�s Defense Ministry announced that some units participating in exercises would begin returning to their bases. But it wasn't immediately clear where exactly these troops were deployed or how many were leaving.The news came a day after Western officials said some forces and military hardware were moving toward the Ukrainian border, muddying the picture. Russia denies it has any plans to invade Ukraine, despite placing troops on Ukraine맥스카지노�s borders to the north, south and east and launching massive military drills nearby.Russia has massed more than 130,000 troops near Ukraine. While the U.S. agreed that there was still a possibility of a diplomatic path out, the country, along with the U.K. and other allies, have kept up their warnings that those forces could move on Ukraine at any moment.At a meeting with Putin on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicated that Russia was ready to keep talking about the security grievances it has raised during the crisis.Asked Tuesday about troops returning to permanent bases after exercises, Lavrov stressed that Russia holds military drills 맥스카지노�on its own territory and according to its own plans, they start, go on and end as planned.맥스카지노�HOW DO OTHERS SEE THAT?Ukraine's leaders voiced skepticism.맥스카지노�Russia constantly makes various statements,맥스카지노� Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. 맥스카지노�That맥스카지노�s why we have the rule: We won맥스카지노�t believe when we hear, we맥스카지노�ll believe when we see. When we see troops pulling out, we맥스카지노�ll believe in de-escalation.맥스카지노�French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said France was trying to confirm the information about Russian troop movements and he would speak 맥스카지노�carefully.맥스카지노�맥스카지노�But if confirmed, that맥스카지노�s obviously a good thing. That would be a sign of de-escalation, which we have been calling for for several weeks. That would also confirm that we were right to reinitiate dialogue,맥스카지노� Attal said. French President Emmanuel Macron met with Putin in Moscow last week.NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that 맥스카지노�so far, we have not seen any de-escalation on the ground, not seen any signs of reduced Russian military presence on the borders of Ukraine.맥스카지노�Stoltenberg said Russia has in the past moved into areas, like Belarus, with troops and equipment, then pulled back while leaving military material in place for rapid use later. He said that NATO wants to see a 맥스카지노�significant and enduring withdrawal of forces, troops, and not least the heavy equipment.맥스카지노�However, Stoltenberg said there are 맥스카지노�some grounds for cautious optimism맥스카지노� for diplomatic efforts given the signals coming from Moscow.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Russia was sending 맥스카지노�mixed signals.맥스카지노�맥스카지노�We are seeing Russian openness to conversations,맥스카지노� Johnson said after a meeting of his government맥스카지노�s COBRA crisis committee. 맥스카지노�On the other hand, the intelligence we are seeing today is still not encouraging.맥스카지노�He said Russia continued to build field hospitals in Belarus near the Ukrainian border, which 맥스카지노�can only be construed as preparation for an invasion.맥스카지노� WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE DIPLOMATIC FRONT?German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met Putin in Moscow, a day after he visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv in a show of solidarity.On Monday, Scholz demanded 맥스카지노�clear steps to de-escalate the current tensions" from Russia. And he underlined Western unity in preparing to impose tough sanctions if Russia does encroach further into Ukraine, though once again he didn't specify what exactly what those would be.Scholz said that 맥스카지노�we are in a position any day to take the necessary decisions.맥스카지노�맥스카지노�No one should doubt the determination and preparedness of the EU, NATO, Germany and the United States, for example, when it comes to what has to be done if there is military aggression against Ukraine,맥스카지노� he added. 맥스카지노�We will then act, and there will be very far-reaching measures that would have significant influence on Russia맥스카지노�s possibilities of economic development.맥스카지노�Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau of Poland, currently the chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, met Lavrov in Moscow. Rau said the OSCE has offered multilateral talks aimed at easing tensions.Ukraine맥스카지노�s foreign minister hosted his Italian counterpart. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he conveyed to Zelenskyy during a phone call Japan's strong support for diplomatic efforts and sanctions against Russia in case of aggression.WHAT DO RUSSIAN LAWMAKERS WANT?Russian lawmakers called on Putin to recognize rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine, the two self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People맥스카지노�s Republics, as independent states. The State Duma, Russia맥스카지노�s lower house of parliament, voted Tuesday to submit an appeal to Putin to that effect, put forward earlier by Russia맥스카지노�s Communist party.Kyiv isn't fulfilling the Minsk agreements, mediated by Germany and France in an effort to bring peace to eastern Ukraine, and 맥스카지노�our citizens and compatriots that live in Donbas need help and support,맥스카지노� State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said on the Telegram messaging app.Volodin said the document will be submitted to Putin 맥스카지노�immediately.맥스카지노�Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier Tuesday that the issue of recognizing the self-proclaimed republics is 맥스카지노�very, very relevant to the public.맥스카지노� But it was unclear what consequences if any the vote would have.WHAT'S THE FEELING IN MOSCOW?While the U.S. has warned that Russia could invade Ukraine any day, the drumbeat of war is all but unheard in Moscow, where pundits and ordinary people alike don맥스카지노�t expect Putin to attack Russia's ex-Soviet neighbor.The Kremlin has cast the U.S. warnings of an imminent attack as 맥스카지노�hysteria맥스카지노� and 맥스카지노�absurdity,맥스카지노� and many Russians believe that Washington is deliberately stoking panic and fomenting tensions to trigger a conflict for domestic reasons.Putin맥스카지노�s angry rhetoric about NATO맥스카지노�s plans to expand to Russia맥스카지노�s 맥스카지노�doorstep맥스카지노� and its refusal to hear Moscow맥스카지노�s concerns has struck a chord with the public, tapping into a sense of betrayal by the West after the end of the Cold War and widespread suspicion about Western designs.___Dasha Litvinova in Moscow, Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Lorne Cook in Brussels, Jill Lawless in London, and Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.