Russia-Ukraine updates: US sanctions Russian military shipbuilder, diamond miner

The U.S. is seeing some movement of Russian troops away from Kyiv, as Russia has suggested, but the White House does not view this as a withdrawal but rather a "redeployment," a White House official told ABC News.

"We're seeing some movement of troops away from Kyiv, which could be an indication of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin having to adjust his original plan," a White House official said. "But no one should read too much into an adjustment -- should momentum build, Russia could change its plans again at any moment, or this could just be a regroup."

"No one should be fooled by Russia’s announcements. We believe any movement of forces from around Kyiv is a redeployment, not a withdrawal, and the world should be prepared for a major offensive against other areas of Ukraine," the official added.

During a Pentagon briefing Tuesday, top spokesman John Kirby confirmed that a "small number" of Russian troops are repositioning away from Kyiv, but he’s not calling it a withdrawal as the Russians have characterized it.

Kirby told reporters the U.S. is not convinced that the threat to Kyiv is over, but that it could mean that Russia is preparing to move troops north of Kyiv for another assault elsewhere in Ukraine.

"Where exactly we don't know," he said. "I would just note that the Russians themselves have said in the same breath they're saying they're withdrawing that they're that they're reprioritizing the Donbas area, eastern Ukraine."

-ABC News' Molly Nagle and Luis Martinez

President Biden on Tuesday expressed skepticism regarding Russia’s claim that its forces will move away from Kyiv and Chernihiv.

"I don't read anything into it until I see what their actions are. We’ll see if they follow through on what they’re suggesting," Biden said during a joint press conference with Singapore's prime minister.

Biden also commented on the ongoing negotiations in Turkey between Ukraine and Russia and said there is consensus among Western allies to "see what they have to offer."

"But in the meantime, we’re going to continue to keep strong sanctions. We are going to continue to provide the Ukrainian military with their capacity to defend themselves and we are going to continue to keep a close eye on what's going on," Biden said.

-ABC News' Justin Gomez

A rocket strike on a regional administration building in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv killed 12 and injured 33 people, according to Ukrainian State Emergency Services.

Emergency services said 18 people were rescued from the rubble.

According to state officials, the strike occurred Tuesday at 8:45 a.m. local time. Search and rescue operations are still underway.

-ABC News' Natalya Kushnir

Gen. Tod Wolters, the top U.S. military commander in Europe, met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday, telling them he expects he’ll need more U.S. troops and it’s possible they may become a permanent force in the country.

With U.S. troop levels in Europe now at 100,000 from 60,000 just a few months ago, Wolters said it’s very likely that the number of troops could continue to rise depending on the situation in Ukraine.

“My suspicion is we're going to still need more,” Wolters said. "And obviously, there's always a mix between the requirement of permanent versus rotational and there are pluses and minuses of each one. We'll have to continue to examine the European contributions to make a smart decision about where to go in the future."

Wolters praised Ukraine’s military and its ability to stall Russian military operations through the weapons systems provided by the U.S. military.

When asked if the U.S. had overestimated the Russians and underestimated Ukraine’s defensive capability, Wolters said in part, "When this crisis is over with we will accomplish a comprehensive after-action review in all domains and in all departments and find out where our weak areas. Where it makes sure that we can find ways to improve and this could be one of those areas."

-ABC News' Luis Martinez