MOSCOW, 20 February 2022, (TON):  Russia's President Vladimir Putin launched exercises by strategic nuclear missile forces on Saturday and Washington said Russian troops massed near Ukraine's border were "poised to strike".

As Western nations fear the start of one the worst conflicts since the Cold War, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said Russian forces were beginning to "uncoil and move closer" to the border with its former Soviet neighbour.

He told a news conference on a visit to Lithuania "we hope he steps back from the brink of conflict.”

Russia ordered the military build-up while demanding NATO stop Ukraine ever joining the alliance but says predictions it is planning to invade Ukraine are wrong and dangerous. It says it is now pulling back while Washington and allies insist the build-up is mounting.

Russian-backed separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine earlier declared a full military mobilisation, a day after ordering women and children to evacuate to Russia, citing the threat of an imminent attack by Ukrainian forces.