Ukraine crisis updates: What to know today as tensions rise

By VANESSA GERA
Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Russia has placed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s border and ratcheted up war games in the region. Moscow denies it is planning an assault but the United States and its NATO allies fear that Russia is planning for war and are also preparing for one. Russia increased its pressure Wednesday that it would quickly take “retaliatory measures” if the U.S. and its allies reject its security demands and continue their “aggressive” policies. Ukrainian officials, however, are seeking to calm nerves. The country’s foreign minister says while the concentration of Russian troops near Ukraine poses a threat “their number is now insufficient for a large-scale offensive.”