The Pentagon said it was monitoring the Ukraine region closely amid reports of a new build-up of Russian troops on the country’s border. According to The Washington Post , US officials were concerned over unexplained movements of Russian military units in the area. Videos posted on social media also show military trains and truck convoys moving tanks and missiles in Russia’s southwest near Ukraine. Commercial satellite images taken by Maxar technologies on November 1 appear to show a build-up of Russian armoured units and troops near the Russian town of Yelnya, close to the Belarus border and about 300km (186 miles) north of the Ukraine border. Russia test fires hypersonic Tsirkon missile from nuclear sub for first time A US official, speaking on the basis of anonymity, confirmed that there had been some movement, though not as large as the surge in Moscow’s forces early this year. “We’re aware of public reports of unusual Russian military activity near Ukraine,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Monday. “We’re going to continue to consult with allies and partners on this issue … As we’ve said before, any escalatory or aggressive actions would be of great concern to the United States.” Ukraine’s defence ministry however denied the report of Russian military build-up near its border. “As of November 1, 2021, an additional transfer of Russian units, weapons and military equipment to the state border of Ukraine was not recorded,” the Ukrainian defence ministry said in a statement. The Russian build-up comes just after US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin toured the Black Sea region, stopping in Nato partner states Ukraine and Georgia and alliance full member Romania, to express solidarity and build more support for confronting Russia in the area. The US Army’s Iron Dome could be headed to Ukraine Moscow has repeatedly voiced concerns over the deployment of Nato forces near Russian borders, describing it as a threat to its security. Russia and the alliance also have continuously accused each other of dangerous and provocative manoeuvres at sea and in the air. Tensions between Moscow and the West have sunk to post-Cold War lows after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, its support for a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine and other irritants. Last month, Russia suspended its mission at Nato and ordered the closure of the alliance’s office in Moscow after Nato had withdrawn the accreditation of eight Russian officials to its Brussels headquarters, saying it believed they had been secretly working for Russian intelligence. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday emphasised the need to strengthen the country’s air defences amid Nato’s military activities near Russia’s borders. Tensions rise in Black Sea as Russian jets conduct ‘mock attacks’ on Dutch frigate Speaking during a meeting with military officials and arms makers in the southern Russian city of Sochi, Putin specifically noted the deployment of Nato’s US-led missile defence components in Eastern Europe and increasingly frequent missions by Nato ships near Russian waters in the Baltic and Black seas. “Even now, a US warship has entered the Black Sea, and we can see it in binoculars or crosshairs of our defence systems,” he said in an apparent reference to the deployment of the US destroyer USS Porter, which sailed into the Black Sea over the weekend and is to be joined this week by USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the US 6th Fleet. In June, Russia said one of its warships fired warning shots and a warplane dropped bombs in the path of British destroyer Defender to drive it away from Black Sea waters near the Crimean city of Sevastopol. Britain denied that account, insisted its ship wasn’t fired upon and said it was sailing in Ukrainian waters. Agence France-Presse, Reuters, Associated Press