Russia continues to add military forces along its border with Ukraine, including over the weekend, the Pentagon said on Monday.
"Even in just over the course of the weekend, we saw Mr. Putin add to his force capability along that border with Ukraine and in Belarus," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kirby said that none of the Russian forces appeared to be directly aimed at NATO's eastern flank at this time.
"He is well north of 100,000 and it continues to grow," Kirby said. He added that no additional US troops had been given prepare-to-deploy orders at this time.
President Joe Biden, opening a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said on Monday that the United States, Germany and NATO are ready to respond should Russia invade Ukraine.
Biden said diplomacy is the best way forward for all sides in the standoff with Russia over Ukraine. The United States has vowed to impose a series of economic penalties on Moscow should it invade Ukraine