The US secretary of state has said the extension of Russian military drills in Belarus has made him more worried about an imminent invasion of Ukraine.
Antony Blinken said Moscow’s decision to keep about 30,000 troops in Belarus, next to Ukraine, amid raised tension in eastern Ukraine, suggests this.
His warning came as unidentified US intelligence sources said Russian commanders have been ordered to invade.
But Ukraine said talk of an imminent Russian invasion was “inappropriate”.
Its Defence Minister Alexei Reznikov said an attack “tomorrow or the day after tomorrow” was unlikely as no Russian “strike groups” had yet formed near the border.
Russia has denied it plans to invade its neighbour. A Belarusian statement blamed the “deterioration of the situation” in eastern Ukraine as one reason for extending the drills in Belarus that were due to end on Sunday
