U.S. seeing some Russian personnel withdrawing but still early, official says

The United States is seeing some Russian personnel withdrawing after a huge buildup near Ukraine but it's still early and Moscow's announcement of its redeployment alone is "insufficient to give us comfort," a senior U.S. defense official told Reuters on Friday.

"It's a bit too soon to tell exactly what forces are withdrawing and exactly what equipment appears to be left behind. But I can just tell you, we're looking very, very closely," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Russia announced on Thursday it had completed a "snap inspection" of military drills in its south and west after weeks of tensions with the West over its concentration of tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine that had raised concerns in Kyiv and the West about the risk of war.