US tracking enough indicators surrounding Russian military activity near Ukraine

"There's significant national security interests of the United States and of NATO member states at stake here if there was an overt act of aggressive action militarily by the Russians into a nation state that has been independent since 1991," Milley told journalists during a flight from Seoul to Washington, Reuters reports. In South Korea, he and other senior military officials discussed joint opposition to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Milley added that the United States is tracking enough indicators and warnings surrounding Russian military activity near Ukraine to trigger "a lot of concern". He also highlighted Russian strident rhetoric and underscored the importance of Ukraine's sovereignty to Washington and the NATO alliance.

As noted, Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to speculate whether Russian President Vladimir Putin might be emboldened by U.S. President Joe Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"I think it would be a mistake for any country to draw a broad strategic conclusion based on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and then take that event and automatically apply it to other situations," he said.

As reported, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Stockholm yesterday to discuss the presence of Russian troops near Ukraine's borders.

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