Ukraine revolution: 150,000 Russian troops on alert as US warns Putin

John Kerry tells Moscow to be 'very careful' as it flexes military muscle with war games in western Russia, near Ukraine's border

By Hannah Strange, and Roland Oliphant in Simferopol

10:49AM GMT 26 Feb 2014

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The US warned Moscow to be "very careful" in its judgements after Vladimir Putin put armed forces in western Russia on alert, as tensions mounted in the pro-Russian Crimea over the overthrow of Moscow ally Viktor Yanukovych by pro-European protesters.

Amid fears the country could fragment in the struggle between its pro-Russian and pro-European regions, Mr Putin flexed his military muscle by ordering war games involving 150,000 troops along the Ukrainian border.

John Kerry, the US secretary of state, raised the spectre of an East-West standoff as he insisted the US and Russia did not need to get into an "old cold war confrontation" over the country. He called on the Kremlin to "keep its word" over the unity of Ukraine, as the White House urged "outside actors" in the region to respect the country's sovereignty.

NATO also turned up the pressure on Russia, saying it would continue to support "Ukrainian sovereignty and independence, territorial integrity, democratic development and the principle of the inviolability of frontiers".