In 2008 Russia announced a military withdrawal from its border with Georgia. 8 days later, it invaded.

• On July 30, 2008, Russia said it was withdrawing troops from Georgia's border.
• On August 7, 2008, Russian troops and tanks entered the country. The war lasted five days.

Russia on Tuesday claimed it was withdrawing some troops from Ukraine's border, even as the US and NATO said it appeared to be increasing its military presence there.

They may worry that the situation could mirror Russia's actions in 2008, when it said it was withdrawing troops and invaded eight days later.

At the time, Russia said its soldiers were in the contested Abkhazia region to fix a railroad, and would soon leave.

Russia's Lt. Gen. Sergei Klimets said on July 30, 2008: "It's certain that all the personnel and all the equipment will be sent away from here."

On August 7, 2008, Russia sent troops into another contested area on its border with Georgia — South Ossetia — from which its troops and tanks advanced further into the country. Tbilisi's international airport was among the sites damaged.

Russia stopped its assault on August 12. Russia denied invading Georgia, saying that it only started sending in troops in response to Georgian military action. Georgia said it was responding to Russia's military action.

Russia's claim on Tuesday that it was withdrawing some troops from the Ukrainian border was met with skepticism.

A senior US official said on Thursday that Russia has actually deployed around 7,000 additional soldiers to the border. "We now know it was false," the official said, according to NBC News.

NATO's chief said on Wednesday that Ukraine appeared to be increasing its military presence.