russia continues to amass troops at the border. tonight, we have more detail on that point from a senior biden administration official. that official notes that russia has at it as many as 7000 troops to the ukrainian border, with some arriving as recently as today. that official, tonight, rejecting russia s assistance, that there has been a reduction of forces. they ve received a lot of attention for that claim, both here in around the world. but, we now know was false. that official also noted a market increase in false claims by the kremlin, including fake reports of unmarked graves in eastern ukraine with citizens, allegedly, killed by a ukrainian forces. it s thought that russia might use false claims, like these, as a pretext for invasion. we should note that the official spokes reporters on did not provide any underlying evidence for the alleged troop buildup, but it is yet another data point in what is an
tanks, with forces. we are going to see innocent men, women and children killed. we re going to see russian soldiers killed. we re going to see ukrainian soliers killed. that is the price of war. and help me with context, any russian invasion of ukraine is unacceptable. it s vladimir putin trying to steal another country s land. additionally a thought they would only go into the separatist areas in eastern ukraine which they claim russia has recognized their, quote, unquote, independence which is a farce. they are saying kharkiv, a city we can show on the map that is to the west, the northwest of those along the russian border is a potential target, a troop buildup across the border. how is it different, and i use the word just carefully, if the military is not just in the separatist regions but in other major ukrainian population centers as well, how does that
russia is flexing its military muscle as tensions with ukraine build. an administration official tells cnn in the last 24 hours russia has added approximately 2,000 combat forces to the border areas near ukraine. and this is ahead of its military drills in belarus and naval exercises on the black sea. meanwhile the white house has approved a plan for u.s. troops in poland to help americans get out of ukraine if russia invades. cnn s melissa bell is in kyiv. what can you tell us about a rapidly escalating situation? reporter: ana, you and i were talking about these efforts of de-escalation. that s not what we re seeing in terms of troop buildup on the ground. more than 100,000 troops now
call with leaders tomorrow about that russian troop buildup. earlier today, president some warn this about the standoff. [inaudible] more troops and. number one. number two, we have reason to believe that they are engaged and [inaudible] every indication we have [inaudible] prepared to go and attack ukraine. [inaudible] a sudden escalation in shelling ukraine has heightened fears of an attack. richard engel is in the ground on ukraine. the stage is set for conflict. the fear is that a significant new rise and shelling along the front line could trigger a war. ukrainian police and military say russian back separatists attack ukrainian towns and villages, damaging a kindergarten. no children were hurt. police released a video of them being evacuated to safety.
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