Australia has used a G20 meeting to urge Russia to de-escalate the situation regarding Ukraine.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Jakarta on Thursday the tensions surrounding Ukraine were "deeply concerning".
"We call upon Russia to de-escalate the situation, for the alternative would be disastrous in human and economic terms," he said.
"It is in our collective interest that these tensions are resolved peacefully."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison told parliament on Wednesday reports of a troop pullback by Russia were "unconvincing and unconfirmed".
He urged Russia to unconditionally withdraw and said an attack on Ukraine would be met with "overwhelming international condemnation".
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg arrives for the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, 17 February 2022. Source: AAP
Mr Morrison discussed the situation with his British counterpart Boris Johnson in a video meeting on Thursday.
"They agreed the need for de-escalation and underscored that any further Russian incursion in Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake and have stark humanitarian cost," said a statement issued after the meeting.
US sees 'no evidence'
The United States has seen no evidence of a significant Russian withdrawal of its military forces from Ukraine's borders despite Moscow's claim, its Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.
"Unfortunately there's a difference between what Russia says, and what it does, and what we're seeing is no meaningful pullback," he said on US broadcaster ABC News.
"On the contrary, we continue to see forces, especially forces that would be in the vanguard of any renewed aggression against Ukraine, continuing to be at the border, to mass at the border."
Mr Blinken called the threat of an invasion "real" and reiterated Washington's call for Russia to de-escalate the situation.
"President Putin has put in place the capacity to act on very short notice," the top US diplomat 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."
Mr Blinken urged diplomacy to resolve the situation, but added: "We're prepared for diplomacy. We're prepared for aggression. We're prepared either way."
Ukraine's leader has vowed that his country would stand tall against any invasion, as both he and NATO warned they could see no sign that Russia is withdrawing its forces.
President Volodymyr Zelensky watched troops training with some of their new Western-supplied anti-tank weapons on a range near Rivne, west of the capital Kyiv on Wednesday.
Mr Zelensky also travelled to the frontline port city of Mariupol, and gave a speech to mark what he had declared Ukraine's "Day of Unity", wearing a military-style olive green coat and vowing resistance.
Ambassadors from the European Union, Germany, Estonia, Poland and Spain headed to Mariupol with the president.
"We are not afraid of forecasts, we are not afraid of anyone, of any enemies," Zelensky said. "We will defend ourselves."
The demonstration of Ukrainian firepower and rhetoric contrasted with images on Russian state media that were said to show Moscow's forces bringing an end to a major exercise in occupied Crimea.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. Source: Sipa USA Konstantin Sazonchik/TASS/Sipa U
But Mr Zelensky denied that this was a sign of a Russian pullback.
"We are seeing small rotations. I would not call these rotations the withdrawal of forces by Russia. We cannot say that," he said in televised comments, "We see no change."
In Rivne, missiles pounded targets and armoured vehicles manoeuvred and fired on the yellowing moorland, while in Kyiv hundreds of civilians marched in a stadium with an enormous national banner.
The "Day of Unity" displays came as the Kremlin called for "serious negotiations" with Washington, and European leaders pushed hard for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.
But NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, who hosted a meeting of the alliance's defence ministers in Brussels, dismissed suggestions that the threat on the border had diminished.
Mr Stoltenberg said the alliance would shore up its eastern defences with forward deployments in member states bordering Ukraine.
"Moscow has made it clear that it is prepared to contest the fundamental principles that have underpinned our security for decades and to do so by using force," he said.
"I regret to say that this is the new normal in Europe."
Mr Stoltenberg also addressed reported Russian troop movements.
Armoured vehicles move at the Gozhsky training ground during the Union Courage-2022 Russia-Belarus military drills in Belarus, which borders Ukraine. Source: AAP
"So far we do not see any sign of de-escalation on the ground; no withdrawals of troops or equipment.
"Russia maintains a massive invasion force ready to attack with high-end capabilities from Crimea to Belarus."
'Signals give us hope'
Russia's huge build-up of troops, missiles and warships around Ukraine is being billed as Europe's worst security crisis since the Cold War.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded Ukraine be forbidden from pursuing its ambition to join NATO and wants to redraw the security map of eastern Europe, rolling back Western influence.
But, backed by a threat of crippling US and EU economic sanctions, Western leaders are pushing for a negotiated settlement, and Moscow has signalled it will start to pull forces back.
On Wednesday the Russian defence ministry said military drills in Crimea, a Ukrainian region Moscow annexed in 2014, had ended and that troops were returning to their garrisons.
Washington has demanded more verifiable evidence of de-escalation, but US President Joe Biden has nevertheless vowed to push for a diplomatic solution.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed this, saying "it is positive that the US president is also noting his readiness to start serious negotiations."
German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht, arriving at the NATO talks, said reports of a partial Russian pullback "are signals that at least give us hope. But it is important to observe closely whether these words are followed by deeds."
EU leaders, already gathered in Brussels for a summit with their African counterparts, are now to hold impromptu crisis talks on Russia and Ukraine on Thursday.
Mr Zelensky has downplayed threats of an immediate Russian invasion, but is attempting to rally his people with the "Day of Unity" celebrations under Ukraine's blue and gold banner.
Ukrainian Army soldiers pose for a photo as they gather to celebrate a Day of Unity in Odessa, Ukraine, Wednesday, 16 February, 2022. Source: AAP, AP
On Tuesday, Ukraine said the websites of the country's defence ministry and armed forces, as well as private banks, had been hit by a cyberattack of the kind that US intelligence fears would precede a Russian attack.
"It cannot be excluded that the aggressor is resorting to dirty tricks," Ukraine's communications watchdog said, in reference to Russia.
Mr Peskov denied that Moscow had any role in the cyber assault. "We do not know anything. As expected, Ukraine continues blaming Russia for everything," he said.
- with AAP
