Expert warns Russia invasion 'could come today' despite claims of pullback of troops

Tensions remain high on the Ukraine border as one expert has warned that Russia could still be planning an attack as soon as today.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said Russia is "locked and loaded" and is ready to invade.

Speaking on Wednesday morning, Minister Wallace said there was not yet any evidence of troops withdrawing from positions near the Ukrainian border.

US intelligence has also claimed that Moscow now has the capability to begin an all-out invasion since Tuesday.

The UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace attends a press conference after talks with the Slovenian Minister of Defence, Matej Tonin. The two defence ministers met to discuss bilateral defence and military relations, the Strategic Compass for the EU and NATO strategic concept as well as current situation on the Russia-Ukraine border and in the security of the Western Balkans. (gettyimages.ie)

Mr Wallace told LBC: "Russia has the size of forces now gathered and at readiness, locked and loaded to some extent, ready to go should they wish to do so."

"The Russian build-up would have been sufficient from the 15th of February to have conducted an overwhelming invasion of Ukraine."

He added: "The real indications here have not been a date, the real indications have been the gradual and steady and significant build-up of forces into a readiness posture, and indeed into a deployment posture, which we've seen in the last few days, that would significantly indicate an incursion into Ukraine.

"Forces can only be held at readiness for so long. The Russians are better at it than most, they could hold those forces at readiness for weeks.

"So, there's really no point speculating on a specific date; however, there are definitely dates in the mix."

Ukrainian soldiers out on the streets of Kyiv. (Andy Commins)

Nato will meet on Wednesday in Brussels as Western allies try to avert conflict.

The Russian defence ministry released footage on Tuesday claiming it was pulling back some troops to their base after exercises.

However, Mr Wallace said masses of troops remained on the border.

He told Sky News: "The Russians have overwhelming forces over Ukraine, and if they really wish to inflict violence and invade, they could do that.

"The Ukrainians would put up a brave resistance.

"I made it very clear to the Russians the Ukrainians will fight, but those odds are overwhelming, and no-one should delude themselves that they're not."

NATO urged Russia to prove it is pulling back troops from around Ukraine's borders on Wednesday as the military alliance's secretary-general has warned that there are signs of Moscow massing more forces near its neighbour despite claims of a drawdown.

Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at the start of the two-day NATO meeting: "It remains to be seen whether there is a Russian withdrawal … What we see is that they have increased the number of troops, and more troops are on the way."