The Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, has revealed that several military regiments of the Russian army have been moved to the western border to face recent NATO threats.

During a meeting in Moscow's northern suburbs, Shoigu said: "Two armies and three units of the Special Landing Forces were successfully transferred to the Russian-Western border in the military training areas within three weeks."

Shoigu asserted that "the forces have shown full readiness and ability to carry out their tasks to ensure the country's military security."

Earlier, the Ukrainian military announced that it was organizing joint military exercises with NATO forces in a move that could fuel tensions with Moscow, which had objected to such military exercises.

Russia warned NATO not to send troops to help Ukraine. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Russia would take "additional action" if NATO took such a step.