Russia-Ukraine updates: US to ban Russian carriers from its airspace

In his opening statement ahead of the NATO Defense Ministers meeting on Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed signals from Russia that they're willing to continue to engage in diplomatic talks -- but said NATO officials "have not, so far, seen any sign of de-escalation on the ground."

NATO Defense Ministers issued a statement after their meeting concluded saying they are "gravely concerned by the very large scale, unprovoked and unjustified Russian military build-up in and around Ukraine and in Belarus."

"We urge Russia, in the strongest possible terms, to choose the path of diplomacy, and to immediately reverse its build-up and withdraw its forces from Ukraine in accordance with its international obligations and commitments. We remain committed to our dual-track approach to Russia: strong deterrence and defence, combined with openness to dialogue," the defense ministers said in a statement. 

They wrote that NATO is deploying additional land forces in the eastern part of the Alliance, as well as additional maritime and air assets, and has increased the readiness of forces.

"Our measures are and remain preventive, proportionate and non-escalatory. We are prepared to further strengthen our defensive and deterrent posture to respond to all contingencies," the statement said. "Our commitment to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty is iron-clad. We stand united to defend each other."

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has condemned a vote by Russia's parliament to call on Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize two Russian-controlled breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent.

The Russian parliament passed a law on Tuesday that is a formal appeal to Putin to recognize the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, in an area of southeastern Ukraine known as the Donbas, where Russian-backed separatists forces have been battling the Ukrainian army since 2014. Such recognition would open a path for Russia to formally annex the two regions as it did the Crimean Peninsula almost eight years ago.

However, Putin indicated Tuesday that he will not immediately recognize the regions.

"To be clear: Kremlin approval of this appeal would amount to the Russian government's wholesale rejection of its commitments under the Minsk agreements, which outline the process for the full political, social, and economic reintegration of those parts of Ukraine's Donbas region controlled by Russia-led forces and political proxies since 2014," Blinken said in a statement Wednesday. "Enactment of this resolution would further undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, constitute a gross violation of international law, call in further question Russia's stated commitment to continue to engage in diplomacy to achieve a peaceful resolution of this crisis, and necessitate a swift and firm response from the United States in full coordination with our allies and partners."

Blinken did not specify what that response would be.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan

While the Russian Ministry of Defense said some of its troops positioned near Ukraine's border would begin returning to their bases, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday that the U.S. has seen "no meaningful pullback" and described the situation as "deeply, deeply concerning."

"On the contrary, we continue to see forces, especially forces in the vanguard of any renewed aggression against Ukraine, continuing to be at the border, to mass at the border," Blinken said, emphasizing the choice to deescalate is squarely on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"President Putin's put in place the capacity to act on very short notice," he said. "He can pull the trigger -- he could pull it today. He could pull it tomorrow. He could pull it next week. The forces are there if he wants to renew aggression against Ukraine."

Amid some tensions between U.S. and Ukrainian officials over the level of urgency here, Blinken defended Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying the former comedian is "taking it very seriously. He's trying to maintain calm. He doesn't want his people to panic. That's the right thing to do. But I think the Ukrainians are taking it very, very seriously."

ABC News Anchor George Stephanopoulos asked Blinken directly if the threat of attack in Ukraine is "today greater than it was yesterday."

"From day to day, George, you can't say it's higher or lower. It's there. It's there. It's real. We haven't seen a pullback. We'd like to see one. If we see one, we would welcome it," Blinken said. "We're prepared for diplomacy. We're prepared for aggression prepared either way."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Russia has "grown tired" of listening to "threats," referring to U.S. President Joe Biden's speech the previous night.

"We'd prefer not to listen to various sorts of threats as to what would happen to us if we did something that we have no intention of doing," Peskov told reporters during a daily call.

If the United States did not issue warnings about a Russian invasion of Ukraine and threaten consequences, then perhaps the Russian people would like Americans more, Peskov said.

"We have pretty much grown tired of [the threats]," he added. "If we heard such messages that would be free of threats, the Russian people would probably like them much more."

Peskov noted that Russia hopes it would be able to begin a "negotiating process" with the U.S. over the Kremlin's demands for security guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO, as well as confidence building measures such as limits on missile deployments and troops exercises.

Biden during his speech Tuesday night again ruled out any guarantee on Ukraine’s potential NATO membership, saying the U.S. will not sacrifice fundamental principles and that countries have a right to choose their alliances. The Biden administration, however, has offered to engage with Russia on the confidence-building measures, which Western nations have put forward in the hope of persuading the Kremlin to choose a diplomatic route out of the crisis.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell