US accuses Russia of further escalation on Ukrainian border

Germany reports 'further troop movements on the border' between the countries

Ukrainian border guards watch as a special vehicle digs a trench on the Ukraine-Russia border close to Sumy. AP

The US on Wednesday accused Russia of continuing to escalate its troop build-up on the border with Ukraine and renewed its warnings against any “aggression” by Moscow.

“Russia continues escalating and has not reversed its troop build-up,” a US State Department representative told AFP.

Washington and its allies were “closely” monitoring the situation, the representative said, repeating warnings that “any further aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences and would carry a severe price".

The statement came as Germany also reported “further troop movements on the border” between Russia and Ukraine.

The West accuses Moscow of having massed tens of thousands of soldiers at the border to prepare for a possible invasion of Ukraine.

Russia denies plotting an invasion and has demanded legal guarantees from the US and Nato, demanding the alliance stop its eastward expansion.

The US and its allies have already warned of unprecedented sanctions if Russia invades.

“We strongly urge Russia to de-escalate by pulling back troops from its border with Ukraine,” the State Department representative added.

“Our goal is de-escalation through diplomacy; the US is ready to engage in diplomacy in January through multiple channels.”

A rocket launches from a missile system as part of a ground-based intercontinental ballistic missile test in December launched from the Plesetsk facility in northwestern Russia. AP

Russia published a revamped national security concept in January that states Moscow has lowered the threshold for using nuclear weapons to counter what it sees as a growing military threat. Reuters

Russia said on October 1 it had launched a new hypersonic cruise missile from a submarine, the latest test of emerging weapons President Vladimir Putin has dubbed 'invincible'. AFP

A Russian Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile drives through Red Square in Moscow in May 2009. AFP

A nuclear missile silo is opened for inspection by Russian rocket forces at a site 70 kilometres from Saratov on November 12, 1994.

Master Sgt Tad Wagner looks over an inert Minuteman 3 missile in a US training launch tube at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. AP

An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during a developmental test on February 5, 2020, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. AFP

A deactivated Titan II nuclear ICMB is seen in a silo at the Titan Missile Museum in Green Valley, Arizona, on May 12, 2015. AFP

A Russian strategic nuclear forces officer inspects a launching tube in Drovjanaja, Siberia, in 1992. AFP