Ukraine claims Russian troops presence could signal invasion

Ukraine has warned of a possible Russian invasion of its territory shortly before a meeting of the NATO military alliance.

"In the worst case, Russia will try to redraw the borders in Europe by force, as it did in Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in Kiev on Monday.

He alleged that there were 115,000 soldiers currently stationed on Russian territory close to the countries' common border. That figure could not be independently verified.

"What we are seeing now is very serious," the minister said.

Kuleba rejected Russian accusations that Kiev was preparing an attack on parts of eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

"Ukraine has no plans for any military offensive in the Donbas," the 40-year-old said, adding that Kiev remained interested in a political solution to the conflict.

Last Friday, President Volodymyr Zelensky had dismissed reports of an alleged Russian invasion as "scaremongering."

"I don't think the situation is worse now than it was in the spring," he said.

Conflict escalation

Earlier, US media reports in particular had suggested an alleged escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has been ongoing since 2014.

Moscow had already dismissed concerns expressed about "large and unusual" Russian troop concentrations near the border with Ukraine.

The foreign ministers of the 30 NATO member states will meet on Tuesday for a two-day meeting in the Latvian capital Riga.