Russia and Belarus have announced an extension to military drills near Ukraine's northern borders, as Western leaders warn of an imminent Russian invasion.
- NATO says Russia has 30,000 troops in Belarus and could use them as part of a force to attack Ukraine
- Meanwhile, a Kremlin spokesman tells state TV that ongoing Western speculation could have 'detrimental consequences'
- He adds that Mr Putin takes no notice of US predictions of when an invasion of Ukraine might happen
With the drills due to end on Sunday local time, Belarus Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin announced they would continue because of military activity near the borders of Russia and Belarus and an escalation of the situation in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
Mr Khrenin said the focus of the extended exercises was "to ensure an adequate response and de-escalation of military preparations of ill-wishers near our common borders".
NATO says Russia has up to 30,000 troops in Belarus and could use them as part of an invasion force to attack Ukraine, which lies to the south of Belarus.
Russia continues to deny that it plans to invade Ukraine and did not comment on the drills with Belarus.
But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the repeated warnings by the West that Russia was about to attack Ukraine were provocative and could have "detrimental consequences", without giving details.
Mr Putin takes no notice of such Western statements, Mr Peskov told Rossiya 1 state TV.
"The fact is that this directly leads to an increase in tension," Mr Peskov said.
Russia and its allies say Ukraine and the West are whipping up tensions by sending NATO reinforcements to eastern Europe.
Western countries are preparing sanctions they say would be wide-reaching against Russian companies and individuals in case of an invasion.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a BBC interview that such sanctions would "hit very very hard," and could include restrictions on Russian businesses' access to the dollar and the pound.
However, he acknowledged such threats may not deter Moscow.
"We have to accept at the moment that Vladimir Putin is possibly thinking illogically about this and doesn't see the disaster ahead," Mr Johnson said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the West should impose some of the sanctions now, rather than waiting for an invasion.
The focus of tensions in recent days has been on the swathe of eastern Ukraine that Russian-backed rebels seized in 2014, the same year Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine.
More than 14,000 people have been killed in the conflict in the east.
Incidents of shelling across the line dividing government forces and separatists — which were sporadic in the past — increased sharply last week.
On Sunday, explosions were heard in the centre of Donetsk in the eastern Donbas region controlled by separatists.
Heavy shelling was reported elsewhere in the region.
With Western fears of war rising, US President Joe Biden was due to convene his top advisers to discuss the crisis.
Mr Biden said on Saturday he believed Russia could launch an attack "at any time," despite assurances from the Kremlin that some troops were returning to their permanent bases after military exercises.
Reuters/ABC