The United States and its allies urged their citizens to leave Ukraine right away to avoid a Russian invasion, including a possible air assault, that Washington said on Friday could occur anytime.

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Moscow accused Western nations of spreading lies to distract from their own aggressive acts.

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https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/satellite-images-show-new-russian-m... from a U.S. firm showed new Russian military deployments at several sites near the border.

Biden told NBC News on Thursday that things in Ukraine "could go crazy quickly," and on Friday held a call about the crisis with the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Poland and Romania, as well as the heads of NATO and the EU.

The leaders agreed to make coordinated efforts to deter Russian aggression, including by being ready to impose "massive consequences and severe economic costs" if it chose military escalation, the White House said after the call.

Washington also expressed concern that Russia and China were cooperating at the highest level, with a senior administration official saying on Saturday the two were "working to undermine us."

A partnership agreement between Moscow and Beijing shows they are in "fundamental alignment" that is growing closer, and a meeting between Putin and China`s President Xi Jinping shows Beijing sees

Moscow`s moves regarding Ukraine as "legitimate," the official told reporters accompanying Blinken on a flight from Australia to Fiji.

U.S. officials believe the crisis could be reaching a critical point, with rhetoric from Moscow hardening, six Russian warships reaching the Black Sea, and more Russian military equipment arriving in Belarus.

"We continue to see very troubling signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border," said Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Stocks extended declines, with the S&P 500 index down around 1.9%. Gold and oil prices rose. The rouble fell to its lowest level against the dollar since March 2020.

Moscow has said it could take unspecified "military-technical" action if its demands are not met. This week it launched joint military exercises in neighbouring Belarus and naval drills in the Black Sea.

Diplomatic efforts have so far failed to yield results.

Four-way talks in Berlin between Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France on Thursday made no progress.

Russia openly mocked British foreign minister Liz Truss when she visited on Thursday and there was no breakthrough after talks between Putin and Macron earlier in the week.

"I`m not going to speculate as to (Putin`s) motivations, his intentions, or, at this point, his decisions," said Sullivan. "All I will say is that we are ready either way."