Ben Wallace told Sky News: "What we haven't seen is evidence of withdrawal that has been claimed by the Kremlin.

"The reality is we must take Moscow at its word but judge them by its actions."

The defence secretary, who is in Brussels for a NATO meeting, added that although Moscow has said it is sending some troops back to their bases, when he was a soldier if troops were setting up blood banks and field hospitals that was not a sign of de-escalation.

He added that the Russians have 60% of their entire land combat power on the border with Ukraine and a "significant flotilla" at sea, meaning Ukraine is "fairly surrounded" by a "fairly large force".