Russia warns it will be 'the beginning of the end of Ukraine' and its army will 'shoot the country in the face' if it 'has to defend its citizens' - as Putin builds his forces on the border
A senior Kremlin official has warned that if Russia is forced to defend its citizens in the disputed Donbass region it would be 'the beginning of the end of Ukraine.'
Tensions have soared in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks after Vladimir Putin dispatched tanks, helicopters and thousands of troops to the Ukrainian border.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov today said the situation in eastern Ukraine was 'very unstable' and warned it risked leading to 'full-scale combat operations.'
Putin insists the build up of military hardware close to the border is defensive and that upcoming drills are part of routine 'combat readiness' inspections.
But the deputy head of Russia's presidential administration, Dmitry Kozak, jangled nerves on Thursday as he warned that: 'The start of military action - this would be the beginning of the end of Ukraine.'
Kozak insisted that Russia would not act unless Ukraine attacked first, but said that any military action by Moscow would be 'not a shot in the leg, but in the face.'
As tensions flared, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy flew into Donbass in a new show of strength as he shook hands with soldiers along the frontier which separates them from Russian-backed rebels.
The notorious Buk missile system, left, was spotted being transported in the Voronzeh region close to the Ukrainian border, as other footage showed military trucks being freighted to the region
Nuclear-capable 2S4 Tyulpan self-propelled mortar system moved in Krasnodar region
Railway workers on the line as tanks and trucks are transported close to Russia's border with Ukraine
A truck is seen on its way to the Ukrainian border amid a massive build up of hardware from Moscow
Satellite pictures show a field camp for Russian forces in the same region as the BUK was seen. The Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) highlighted the base which has appeared in recent days.
Thousands of Russian troops have been dispatched to the Ukrainian border, some of them are believed to be staying at this field camp
Among the hardware seen on its way to the front are tanks, howitzers, BUK anti-aircraft missile launchers, artillery pieces and support vehicles.
Ships are also being shifted from the Caspian Sea - which sits between Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan - , are also being moved to the Black Sea which sits between Russia and Ukraine.
Among the craft being moved are artillery boats and troop landing craft, which are of particular concern because they are primarily an offensive weapon.
Amid the escalating tensions, the US is considering whether to move its own ships into the Black Sea in a show of support for Ukraine.
Biden would need to seek permission from Turkey for the move, because it controls the strait which provides access to the sea under the terms of a 1936 treaty.
The US is also continuing to fly reconnaissance planes over the sea to monitor Russian activity and flew two B-1 bombers over the Aegean Sea earlier this week, according to CNN.
Kozak was asked if Russia would protect its citizens in eastern Ukraine.
Referring in his reply to Srebrenica, where about 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed by Bosnian Serb forces during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war, he said: 'It all depends on the scale of the fire. If there is, as our president says, Srebrenica, apparently we will have to step in to defend (them).'
Putin has made previous analogies to a 'second Srebrenica' if Ukraine does not submit to an amnesty on new border lines which have emerged since the conflict started in 2014.
Putin today accused Ukraine of 'provocative actions' in a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The president's words reflect the masses of military hardware which has been seen being ferried for thousands of miles to the border region.
Footage emerged today showing a Buk missile system in the in Voronezh region which borders Ukraine, amid new fears that Moscow could be massing an invasion-capable force.
The weapons system was used in rebel-held Donetsk region in 2014 to down a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 killing 298 people.
More footage shows the nuclear-capable 2S4 Tyulpan self-propelled mortar system being moved on a military train in Krasnodar region.
New satellite images have also revealed a field camp for Russian forces in the same region as the BUK was seen.
The Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) highlighted the base which has appeared in recent days.
Ruslan Leviev, from CIT, told BBC Ukraine: 'We notice the movement of all the units.
'These are both "Pskov paratroopers" and motorised infantry units - they are for example, from the Kemerovo region of Siberia, and from Dagestan.'
Trucks and tanks are transported close to the Ukrainian border amid a massive build up of military hardware
A Russian howitzer is seen being transported, left, along with a tank
A Ukrainian soldier walks along a trench at the frontline close to the rebel-held city of Donetsk in the pro-Russian Donbass region
Russian president Vladimir Putin is massing forces at the borders of Ukraine (pictured at the Kremlin during a meeting on March 24)
The downing of Malaysian flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur by a BUK missile in July 2014 caused a major international scandal.
Russia denied responsibility but Western investigators found Moscow had provided the BUK system that blew the passenger plane out of the sky.
Merkel earlier today advised Putin to pull his forces back from Ukraine's eastern border amid escalating violence along the frontier.
'The Chancellor demanded that this build-up be unwound in order to de-escalate the situation,' Berlin said in a readout of the call.
Russia has said its forces pose no threat and were defensive, but that they would stay there as long as Moscow saw fit.
The Kremlin said in its readout of the Merkel phone call that 'Vladimir Putin noted provocative actions by Kyiv which is is deliberately inflaming the situation along the line of contact.'
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy flew to eastern Donbass in a show of support on Thursday. He is pictured shaking hands with officers after landing by helicopter
Various videos and photos have emerged on social media in recent weeks purporting to show a build up of Russian military hardware close to the border with Ukraine
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy flew to eastern Donbass in a show of support on Thursday two days after he called on NATO to lay out a path for Ukraine to join the military bloc, whose expansion Moscow fiercely opposes.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said those living in eastern Ukraine would not tolerate NATO membership, and that rhetoric could further destabilise the Donbass region.
'So far we're not seeing an intention by the Ukrainian side to somehow calm down and move away from belligerent topics,' he said.
The rouble hit a five-month low on Wednesday after Russia said it had begun a planned inspection of its army's combat readiness involving thousands of drills.
The standoff has also pushed Ukrainian sovereign bonds to their lowest level since November.
Ukraine and Western countries say Donbass separatists have been armed, led, funded and aided by Russians. Moscow has denied interfering.
While a ceasefire halted full-scale warfare in 2015, sporadic fighting never ceased.
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