Russia said Tuesday it is moving some of its forces away from Ukraine’s border and slammed reports of an imminent invasion as “ostentatious hysteria” — but the West reacted skeptically to the announcement, questioning the Kremlin’s credibility and pointing to the presence of a massive military force still arrayed near the former Soviet state.

“We’ve always said the troops will return to their bases after the exercises are over. This is the case this time as well,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, according to Reuters.

However, it was unclear exactly how many units were being withdrawn after a build-up of an estimated 130,000 Russian forces to the north, east and south of Ukraine.

Peskov also accused the US of fueling the crisis by warning repeatedly of an invasion — to the point where Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin had joked about it.

“He asks (us) to find out if the exact time, to the hour, of the start of the war has been published. It’s impossible to be understanding of this manic information madness,” the spokesperson said.

Peskov took particular issue with moves by several Western countries, including the US and Canada, to relocate their embassies away from the Ukrainian capital Kiev.

“This is some sort of ostentatious hysteria, which of course is not based on anything,” he said, per Agence France-Presse.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier Tuesday that Moscow will continue its dialogue with the West on security matters and is ready for separate talks on intermediate-range nuclear missiles.

But he also dismissed reports that Russia is planning to invade Ukraine as “information terrorism.”

The troop pullback from the Ukrainian border would be the first major step toward de-escalation in the weeks-long standoff between Russia and the West.

Footage released Tuesday by the Russian Defense Ministry showed some tanks and other armored vehicles being loaded onto railway cars.

Still, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kiev would only “believe in de-escalation” after it sees Russia’s pullout, the Interfax Ukraine news agency reported.

“We won’t believe when we hear, we’ll believe when we see. When we see troops pulling out, we’ll believe in de-escalation,” Kuleba said.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg added: “So far, we have not seen any de-escalation on the ground, not seen any signs of reduced Russian military presence on the borders of Ukraine.”

But he noted that there are “some grounds for cautious optimism” for diplomatic efforts emerging from Moscow in recent days.

Britain, which with the US has sounded the loudest warnings of imminent action, also reacted cautiously Tuesday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he is encouraged by the prospects of finding a diplomatic resolution, but added that the intelligence remains troubling. 

“Going into today, clearly there are signs of a diplomatic opening, there always has been an opportunity to talk, there are grounds for a conversation about Ukraine, with Ukraine. And that’s good. We are seeing Russian openness to conversations,” Johnson said.

“On the other hand, the intelligence that we’re seeing today is still not encouraging.”

The prime minister stated the intelligence suggested that Russia was building field hospitals in Belarus and “more battalion tactical groups [were] actually being brought closer to the border.”

“So mixed signals I think at the moment and all the more reason therefore for us to remain very tough and very united, particularly on the economic sanctions,” Johnson said.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said while Russia has denied it intends to invade, “we will need to see a full-scale removal of troops to show that is true.” 

Putin has demanded legally binding guarantees from the US and NATO that Kiev will not be allowed to join the Atlantic alliance, that NATO roll back troops from Eastern Europe and ensure that missile systems will not be deployed inside Ukraine.

Washington and Brussels have so far refused to make such pledges.

The Biden administration, which said it is still trying to find a diplomatic resolution to the standoff, has not seen indications that Russia is drawing down troops on the border.

“The path for diplomacy remains available if Russia chooses to engage constructively,” White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday. “However, we are clear-eyed about the prospects of that, given the steps Russia is taking on the ground in plain sight.”

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Putin has added “military capability” to forces along Ukraine and in Belarus, as well as continuing naval maneuvers in the Black Sea.

“I would like to refrain from getting into specific movements of their troops. I think that’s probably not a wise thing for me to do with any great specificity,’ he told reporters. “I would just say this: That he [Putin] continues to advance his readiness, should he choose to go down a military path here, and should he choose to invade again, he is doing all the things you would expect him to do to make sure he’s ready for that option, or options.”

On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared a national “Day of Unity” for Wednesday — the day purportedly set for an invasion.

With Post wires.