Russia has continued to send more forces to its border with Ukraine and could launch an invasion at any time, including during the Beijing Winter Olympics, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday.

He further said Washington was continuing to "drawdown" its embassy in Ukraine and repeated the call to American citizens in Ukraine to leave the country immediately after, POTUS warned that "things could go crazy quickly".

RUSSIAN THREAT IS "REAL"

"Simply put, we continue to see very troubling signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border," Blinken told a news conference in Melbourne amid the QUAD summit ministerial meeting.

Adding to it he said, "As we've said before, we're in a window when an invasion could begin at any time, and to be clear, that includes during the Olympics."

Although, Russia, which has amassed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine's borders, denies Western accusations that it may be planning to invade its former Soviet neighbour, but it's a "no-brainer" for the world to make out from what's actually happening on the ground.

On the opening day of the Winter Olympics last week, China and Russia declared a "no limits" partnership, backing each other over standoffs on Ukraine and Taiwan with a promise to collaborate more against the West.

Beijing endorsed Russia's demand that Ukraine should not be admitted into NATO, as the Kremlin amasses more than 100,000 troops at the border, while Moscow opposed any form of independence for Taiwan, as global powers jostle over their spheres of influence.

"Russia's potential invasion of Ukraine threatens the international rules-based order", Blinken said, adding that if such an action goes unpunished, it could have consequences in the Indo-Pacific -- an apparent hint at the threat of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

Britain also said on Thursday the "most dangerous moment" in the West's standoff with Moscow appeared imminent, as Russia held military exercises in Belarus and the Black Sea.

US and its allies have warned Russia of harsh sanctions if it goes ahead with an invasion of Ukraine, but Russia doesn't look to be bothered about it at all!

Pics credits: AFP