Is Russia going to invade Ukraine?

On November 11, Bloomberg reported that Washington was concerned about Russia's possible invasion of Ukraine. 

According to Kremlin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov, such reports can only escalate tensions for no reason. 

“Headlines like these are nothing but an empty, unfounded effort to escalate tensions," he said. 

Speaking about growing tensions, Peskov referred to the state of affairs in the Black Sea and NATO's aerial reconnaissance activities. Russia must be on alert, Peskov added. 

According the Kremlin's official spokesman, it is the countries that declare Russia their enemy that conduct reconnaissance activities in the Black Sea region. Russia must hedge risks and ensure security, Peskov said. 

Earlier, Bloomberg said that Washington's officials shared their concerns about Russia's imminent invasion of Ukraine with their European counterparts. However, US officials did not provide any specific information and only said that such conclusions were made on the basis of publicly available evidence.

A source close to the Kremlin said that Russia had no intention to start a war with Ukraine now, but wanted to show its readiness to use force if necessary, Bloomberg said. Another source told the agency that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was unlikely, and that Moscow had a plan to respond to provocations coming from Ukraine.

Over the past several month, US officials have made a number of statements about the build up of Russia's military presence at the border with Ukraine. The Washington Post reported that the United States and Europe recorded unusual movements of Russian military hardware. Politico then released satellite images of military hardware near the border with Belarus.