In a dramatic, previously unscheduled speech to the United Nations in New York, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said intelligence showed Moscow could order an assault on its neighbour in the coming days .
Russia has increased its presence on the border with Ukraine by as many as 7,000 troops, some of whom arrived Wednesday, said a senior White House official, slamming Moscow s announcement of a withdrawal as false .
The move came amid an intense diplomatic effort to avert a feared Russian invasion of its pro-Western neighbour, possibly this week, and after Moscow amassed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine s borders.
The Pentagon said Thursday it had evidence of a plan by Moscow to film a fake Ukrainian attack on Russians to justify a real assault on its pro-West neighbor.
Kazakhstan's president said Friday that order had been mostly restored in the country after days of unprecedented violence that saw a Moscow-led military alliance send troops to help quell unrest.