CIA director raised 'serious' concerns about Russia military actions during call with Putin: CNN

Washington: CIA Director William Burns reportedly discussed U.S. concerns regarding Russia's military buildup at the Ukrainian border last week during a rare direct discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"It would be foolish for us not to be considering the possibility of an invasion or incursion," a source told CNN regarding the "serious concerns" of the U.S.

"Yes, such a conversation took place via telephone," Putin's spokesperson Dimitry Peskov confirmed to CNN on Monday.

Peskov added that the leaders discussed "bilateral relations, the crisis situation in the diplomatic practice, and an exchange of views on regional conflicts."

"Of course, cybersecurity issues were also mentioned," he said.

Ukraine has downplayed Russia’s increased military presence, with its Defense Ministry saying last week that Moscow has a history "transferring and accumulating military units for the purpose of maintaining tension in the region and political pressure on neighboring countries."

Two senior U.S. officials told CNN that the Biden administration was particularly worried after satellite images showed irregular movements of Russian troops, tanks and artillery.

In a press briefing on Monday, ​​Pentagon press secretary John Kirby called the military buildup “concerning” and confirmed that the U.S. is watching the matter "closely."

“I'm not going to get into intelligence assessments from the podium, particularly in quantifying this,” Kirby said. “We continue to see concerning movements by the Russian military in their western areas and around Ukraine. We continue to call on them to be clear about what their intentions are, what they're actually doing and to abide by the Minsk agreements and to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.”