Kiev: Ukraine has accused Russia of conducting a large military buildup near their border that raises the threat of an invasion, but Moscow denied that. Andriy Parubiy, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council claims that Russia has deployed more than 80,000 troops.
This includes up to 270 tanks and 140 combat planes close to the border, creating the "threat of a full-scale invasion from various directions."
Mr Parubiy said Russian troops are based in the immediate vicinity of the Ukrainian border, some of them as close as a two or three hour drive from Kiev.
In Moscow, Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov denied a military buildup on the nearly 2,000-kilometer border. He also said Moscow has accepted a request by Ukraine to conduct a surveillance flight over the Russian territory under the Open Skies treaty.
Mr Antonov said that while Russia was not obliged to perform such a flight, it decided to undertake one so that Ukraine can see for itself that "Russian armed forces aren't conducting any military activities near the border of Ukraine that could threaten its security."
Russian forces have secured control over Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow is ready to "use all means" to protect Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin-controlled parliament has granted Putin permission to use the Russian military in Ukraine.
NATO headquarters spokesman Lt. Col. Jay Janzen said one Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft based in England would observe Russian air and sea movements from Polish air space, while the other based in Germany would fly over Romania.
