The United States continues to monitor the & nbsp; situation on the & nbsp; Russian-Ukrainian border, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a & nbsp; briefing According to & nbsp; he said, a large number of Russian troops are concentrated there.
“ We & nbsp; do not & nbsp; observe any significant changes in & nbsp; the location of Russian troops near & nbsp; the border of Ukraine. There are still significant forces there '', & nbsp; & mdash; said & nbsp; he.
In the & nbsp; answer to a journalist's & nbsp; question about & nbsp; is it possible & nbsp; is the expansion of the US military presence in & nbsp; countries on the & nbsp; eastern flank of NATO, Kirby said: 'I have nothing to report on & nbsp; a new rotation of forces concerning our NATO allies. We & nbsp; have significant funds in & nbsp; this region. & Nbsp or deploying forces on a & nbsp; rotational basis, Washington will consider this request.
A week earlier, Kirby said that & nbsp; there is a “ significant amount '' on the & nbsp; Russian-Ukrainian border. armed forces of Russia, and & nbsp; the Russian side continues to build up troops. Reports about the & nbsp; activity of the Russian military in the & nbsp; region began to appear in & nbsp; October in the & nbsp; media, including & nbsp; The Washington Post and & nbsp; Politico wrote about this. Later, the Associated Press, The New York Times, Bild and & nbsp; others began reporting that & nbsp; Russia was planning to start hostilities in & nbsp; Ukraine.
In the Kremlin, such messages were called “ empty, unfounded escalation of tension. '' The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that & nbsp; the actions of the Russian armed forces on the & nbsp; territory of the country & nbsp; & mdash; “ the legal right of a sovereign state. '' President Vladimir Putin reminded that & nbsp; about & nbsp; a possible “ invasion '' Russia was spoken to & nbsp; Ukraine back at the & nbsp; the beginning of the year, during & nbsp; during the West-21 exercise, but no military action then followed.
In early December, the head of the CIA, William Burns, said that ; the & nbsp; US intelligence services are not yet sure of & nbsp; that & nbsp; Russia intends to carry out an “ invasion '' to & nbsp; Ukraine, however, it should be taken into account that & nbsp; the Russian armed forces are “ capable of acting very radically. '' Later, a similar point of view was voiced by Sullivan.