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

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Russia was not only not withdrawing, but also moving troops into fighting positions at a briefing on Wednesday, as ABC News first reported Tuesday.

"To be very, very clear, we have not seen that. In fact, we have seen the opposite. In recent weeks and even in recent days, more Russian forces, not fewer, are at the border -- and they are moving, concerningly, into fighting positions," Price said. "This is cause for profound concern."

Price also accused Russian officials and Russian media of "plant[ing] numerous stories in the press, any one of which could be elevated as pretext for an invasion" which, he said, "could happen, we are concerned, at any time, and the world should be ready for it." 

The U.S. is "particularly concerned" by Russian President Vladimir Putin and others' claims of "genocide" in the Donbas, Price said, as well as false claims of Ukrainian attacks on Russian-led separatists in eastern Ukraine, U.S. or NATO action against Russia, U.S. and Ukraine developing biological and chemical weapons, or the West backing guerrillas in eastern Ukraine.

"These are false narratives that Russia is developing for use as a pretext for military action against Ukraine," Price added.

While Feb. 16 has almost come and gone in Kyiv, Price rejected that it meant U.S. intelligence was wrong about a possible Russian invasion -- saying both that the U.S. never said specifically that Feb. 16 would be the date of an attack and that Putin still have the capabilities in place to strike at any moment.

"Our concern has not diminished an iota, and in fact, our concern continues to grow given that we have yet to see de-escalation, and given that, in the absence of de-escalation, we've actually seen escalation," he said -- now saying it's possible Russia attacks after the Olympics, too.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy address his nation Wednesday after inspecting military exercises in northern Ukraine to mark the new "Unity Day" holiday he created this week in response to U.S. warnings Russia could begin an invasion as early as Feb. 16.

Zelenskyy declared that Ukraine is not afraid and no longer in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea, suggesting Ukraine is ready to defend itself this time. 

"We are not frightened by threats or predictions, or dates of the coming doomsday. Be it the 16th or 17th. February or April or November. What really matters is the year, and it's 2022 now, not 2014," he said.

"We're strong because we are united, we're calm in our togetherness, and it's an honor and privilege for me to be a president of such a state," Zelenskyy added. 

-ABC News' Fidel and Patrick Reevell and Fidel Zepeda

Moscow is concerned that Kyiv might use the current situation to launch an attack against the Russian-controlled areas in the Donbas region of southeastern Ukraine, according to Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"The events of recent weeks allow us to state with confidence that the goal of this campaign was to create an information curtain to pump up the Kyiv regime with arms," Zakharova said during a press briefing in Moscow on Wednesday. "There is an understanding that this situation will be used by the Kyiv leadership for a suicidal aggression against Donbas."

Zakharova said if there is "political will," the Minsk peace agreements -- which were signed in 2014 and 2015 in an unsuccessful effort to end the ongoing conflict between the Ukrainian army and the Russian-backed separatists forces in Donbas -- can be implemented within "a few months." But she warned that "any sudden move" in Ukraine could have "fatal consequences."

"The hysteria fanned by the West has put severe psychological pressure on the population of Ukraine, but it is up to them to deal with it," she told reporters. "We are concerned about another thing. It is a country in a hot phase of an internal conflict and, therefore, people's condition, including their mental state, is important. Because any sudden move, including on the contact line, any shot, any provocation may ultimately lead to some fatal consequences."

Zakharova noted that Moscow is "no longer interested in" statements made by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, whom she called a "NATO has-been." She was referring to an announcement earlier this month that Stoltenberg will become Norway's new central bank chief -- all but confirming that he will leave his current post as head of the Western defense alliance.

"He is not a person whose statements Moscow would consider serious arguments," Zakharova told reporters. "We will be focused on a serious conversation if our Western partners are ready for it."

-ABC News' Tanya Stukalova

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