Did Russia's border pullback ease tensions in April 2021?

What was the state of play between Kyiv and Moscow on 26 April 2021? The days before it had brought two notable moves: an invitation from Ukraine and an announcement of withdrawal from Russia.

On 21 April 2021, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to a face-to-face meeting on the front line in the war-torn Donbas. The aim, as stated, was to negotiate an end to the conflict.

On 22 April 2021, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it would move its forces away from the Ukrainian border beginning the following day. Ukraine and its western allies had accused Russia of trying to provoke conflict by moving troops to the border. Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu had said the deployment was only to conduct drills.

The two developments left the question of the border and the war in Donbas in the foreground as 26 April 2021 began: Kyiv had offered direct talks, and Moscow had said its troops would pull back.