Russian tonight reiterated that a withdrawal of all its non-peacekeeping troops from Georgia into South Ossetia would begin tomorrow morning.
Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said the pullout would be complete by tomorrow evening.
Some Russian troops and military vehicles were on the move today, including 21 tanks seen heading towards Russia from inside South Ossetia.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner hailed the report of tank movements.
"We are waiting... for the Russians to respect their word," Mr Kouchner told reporters in Paris. "We waited twice with dashed hopes. This time, it appears that there is at least the beginning of a fulfilment."
But in Washington, Defence Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said the moves appeared cosmetic.
"There has not been much evidence of any significant Russian withdrawals. There have been what I would call some minimal movements to date," he said.
The commander of Russia's land forces, General Vladimir Boldyrev, said today that checkpoints in the security zones would be up and running tomorrow and that forces not involved in that effort would head back to Russia - but that it would take about 10 days after that for them to get there.
That suggests Russian forces could still be holding territory deep in Georgia up to the end of August.
US defence secretary Robert Gates today accused Russia of using military action to punish Georgia for being a Western ally and said Moscow could face serious consequences for years to come.
Mr Gates ruled out using US military force in Georgia but he said the Pentagon would review all aspects of its relations with Russia's military.
Mr Gates, the most experienced Russia expert in the top ranks of the Bush administration, said Moscow's actions had "profound implications for our security relationship going forward, both bilaterally and with Nato."
"If Russia does not step back from its aggressive posture and actions in Georgia, the US-Russian relationship could be adversely affected for years to come," Mr Gates, a former CIA director and Soviet expert at the intelligence agency, told reporters at the Pentagon.
"My personal view is that there need to be some consequences for the actions that Russia has taken against a sovereign state," he said. He did not specify consequences but said other countries would now look at Russia "through a different set of lenses."
Fighting between Russian and Georgian forces began last week after Georgia tried to regain control of the pro-Russian separatist province of South Ossetia and Russia launched a massive counter-offensive.
Both sides have agreed to a French-brokered cease-fire. US president George W. Bush has sent Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to France to consult on efforts to end the conflict and Tblisi to show US support for Georgia.