US accuses Russia of deploying thousands more troops to Ukraine border

In Rivne, Ukraine, missiles pounded targets and armoured vehicles fired on the moorland

The United States on Wednesday dismissed reports that Russia was withdrawing troops from Ukraine's border, instead accusing Moscow of sending more soldiers as fears of an invasion grow.

Russia has increased its presence on the border with Ukraine by "as many as 7,000 troops," some of whom arrived Wednesday, said a senior White House official, slamming Moscow's announcement of a withdrawal as "false."

The official, who requested anonymity, added that while Moscow has said it wants to reach a diplomatic solution, its actions "indicate otherwise."

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky marked what he had declared "Day of Unity" by watching Ukrainian soldiers train with new Western-supplied anti-tank weapons near Rivne, west of the capital Kyiv.

"We are not afraid of anyone, of any enemies," Zelensky said on a day that Western intelligence had warned Moscow could choose to invade. "We will defend ourselves."

"We are seeing small rotations. I would not call these rotations the withdrawal of forces by Russia," he said in televised comments. "We see no change."

Russia's huge build-up of troops, missiles and warships around Ukraine has been billed as Europe's worst security risk since the Cold War.

"Moscow has made it clear that it is prepared to contest the fundamental principles that have underpinned our security for decades and to do so by using force," he said.

- 'Invasion force ready' -

"Russia maintains a massive invasion force ready to attack with high-end capabilities from Crimea to Belarus."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded Ukraine be forbidden from pursuing its ambition to join NATO and wants to redraw the security map of eastern Europe, rolling back Western influence.

In the latest such move, the Russian defense ministry said on Wednesday that military drills in Crimea -- a Ukrainian region that Moscow annexed in 2014 -- had ended and that troops were returning to their garrisons.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed this, telling reporters: "It is positive that the US president is also noting his readiness to start serious negotiations."

Meanwhile, the Pentagon said that three US Navy aircraft were intercepted by Russian planes in an "unprofessional" manner over the Mediterranean Sea last weekend.

"Over the past several weeks, we've also seen Russian officials and Russian media plant numerous stories in the press, any one of which could be elevated to serve as a pretext for an invasion," State Department Spokesman Ned Price said.

A UN Security Council meeting is also set Thursday to discuss the crisis.

Ukraine had said Tuesday the websites of the country's defense ministry and armed forces, as well as private banks, had been hit by a cyberattack of the kind that US intelligence fears would precede a Russian attack.

Kremlin spokesman Peskov denied that Moscow had any role in the cyber assault and accused Ukraine of "blaming Russia for everything."

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Originally published as US accuses Russia of deploying thousands more troops to Ukraine border