Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with members of the Central Elections Committee at the presidential residence in Novo-Ogarevo, 12 December 2007.
Fmr. Pentagon official on Russia, Ukraine
02:58 - Source: CNN
CNN  — 

Russian military exercises near Ukraine are raising concerns that Moscow may be putting troops in position to move across the border if such orders are issued, a senior U.S. official familiar with the most recent administration assessment told CNN Thursday.

But the United States still believes that Russia doesn’t plan to order its forces into its tumultuous neighbor, the official said on the condition of anonymity.

Russian officials have complained that opposition figures who have taken control of Ukraine’s government are threatening pro-Russian Ukrainians.

“For a country that has spoken out so frequently in the last year … against foreign intervention in Libya, Syria, elsewhere, it would be important for them to heed those warnings as they think about options in the sovereign nation of Ukraine,” he said.