US Warns Russia Planning Invasion 'Very Soon'

The White House has warned that Russia is planning to launch a full-scale attack on Ukraine "very soon," CNBC has reported.

However, Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov told ICTV on Monday that an invasion was unlikely to occur "tomorrow or the day after tomorrow," as no Russian "strike groups" had congregated at the border.

But he stressed that such groups could be set up within weeks.

Putin is reportedly ready to address Russia's security council imminently, in what was described as "not a regular session" by the Kremlin.

Amid the uncertainly of what exactly Putin is planning, what remains uncontested is that fighting between Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, which has been going on at a low level for eight years, has escalated over the past week, with both sides blaming the other for the increase in aggressive acts, according to CNBC.

Western officials have warned that Russia could make false claims about that fighting to justify an invasion, in what has been called a "false flag attack" by the United States and Great Britain.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the U.N. Security Council last week that such false claims could include a fabricated terrorist bombing, the invented discovery of a mass grave, a staged drone attack against civilians or a fake chemical weapon attack, CNBC reported.

Biden on Sunday convened a meeting of the National Security Council to talk about the Ukraine crisis.

British Prime Minister Boris Jonson has said there is evidence that Russia is planning "the biggest war in Europe since 1945."

Last week, the U.S. estimated there were some 190,000 Russian troops in and near Ukraine, almost double the 100,000 that were there at the end of last month.

This contradicts Russian claims that it had started to withdraw troops from the border.

• US to UN: Russia Planning Targeted Killings, Kidnappings, Detentions
• Biden-Putin Summit Can't Solve Anything Without Ukraine, Kyiv Says