As I read the headlines, most say Putin has retreated SOME of his troops, which means essentially, they’re still there & plenty of time left for them to move forward. I don’t know what kind of “deal” got worked out, or what might be in the works; too much speculation to know right now (if ever).
IF, indeed, Putin does not go forward with what everyone perceives as his “plan” for Ukraine, IMO, he loses a lot of credibility with regard to public perception in US. If this was truly sabre-rattling, I think it went too far & Putin could lose credibility across the board. A lot more to his moves than any of us knows, I’m sure but, if he actually backed down, then, I think Xendrius’ theory might be correct. (Globalists to take down Russia first, then, China.)