Her hand covering her mouth, her face contorted with anguish, Yekaterina Len stood sobbing this morning in the kitchen of her shattered house in Slavyansk, east Ukraine.

Where just days ago the 61-year-old stood preparing borscht, now there was nothing but blackened sodden mess, the effects of a Ukrainian army shell which landed straight on her roof.Slavyansk has been a major battleground in the unofficial civil war raging between troops loyal to the pro-West Kiev government and separatist rebels who claim 'fascists' have seized control in their country.But with nearly 130,000 residents in this Donetsk region city, a centre for heavy engineering, there are plenty of civilians caught up on the crossfire.Yesterday rebels continued to exchange fire with government soldiers on the outskirts of Slavyansk, even as the country's richest man called on them to lay down their weapons.Meanwhile, Russia's defence ministry announced that its units have begun to dismantle their camps close to the Ukrainian border, in line with orders from President Vladimir Putin.Soldiers in the Bryansk, Belgorod and Rostov regions were now preparing to make the journey back to their home bases, said a spokesman. But Nato's spokesman Oana Lungescu challenged the Russians 'to prove they are doing what they are saying.'Nato claims the Kremlin has stationed 40,000 soldiers along the border with Ukraine. The U.S.-led alliance told the Associated Press it is watching the situation closely, but could not yet confirm any troop movements.The Russian defence ministry said last night it would take time for soldiers to dismantle their camps and load up equipment before marching to railway stations for redeployment.President Putin's order seemed to made clear he has no immediate plans to intervene in mainly Russian-speaking east Ukraine, where separatist militants have fought with government forces after seizing control of towns and cities.The rebels declared the Donetsk and Luhansk regions independent following referendums earlier this month, which Ukraine and the West have denounced as a sham.Russia has scathingly criticised the new Ukrainian government, which came to power in February after the toppling of pro-Russian president Yanukovych, for using the military against its own people.But Putin's order to withdraw troops from areas near the border and his new support for Ukraine's presidential vote this Sunday seemed to reflect a desire to de-escalate the worst crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War.It could also forestall further sanctions from the U.S. and European Union, which have imposed travel bans and asset freezes on members of Putin's inner circle over Russia's annexation of Crimea following the Kiev coup.(dailymail.co.uk)Bakudaily.az