This may include ads from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. Ukraine, which is attempting to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, has received a series of U.S. ammunition and Javelin missiles, prompting criticism from Moscow. Kiev accuses Moscow of massing tens of thousands of troops in preparation for a possible offensive, raising fears that a simmering conflict in Ukraine's eastern Donbass region could spark a war between the neighbours.
Russia denies planning any attack but accuses Ukraine and the United States of destabilising behaviour and has sought security guarantees against NATO's eastward expansion. Russia held its own military drills nearby, the Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday. SU-30 fighter jets and SU 24 bombers from the Black Sea Fleet did aerial refuelling exercises over Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet said that flights were conducted in the sky over Crimea. A total of 20 pilots practised complex flight tasks, including mid-air refuelling at altitudes from 2,000 to 6,000 metres at speeds of around 600 km h. Ukrainian top security official Oleksiy Danilov said on Wednesday 122,000 Russian troops were 200 km 124 miles away from the border with Ukraine. Mr Danilov told Reuters last week that Russia would need at least 500,000 -- 600,000 troops at the border in order to keep the situation under control in the event of an offensive. He said that Russia could increase troop numbers very quickly, but would need more than 24 hours to bring enough troops to the border to mount an invasion. Ukraine is the subject of consultations between Western allies and Russia, which has been urged to open negotiations in the so-called Normandy format, which would bring together representatives of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine. Dialogue with Moscow is necessary, be it in the Normandy format or through talks at the Russia-NATO Council, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Wednesday.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said earlier this month that the West and its allies are united in threatening massive consequences for any Russian invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. Ms Truss spoke to reporters at a press conference: "We've sent a powerful signal to our allies and our adversaries." We've been clear that any incursion by Russia into Ukraine would have massive consequences, and there would be a huge cost.