Russia has dismissed warnings from the United States about the deployment of troops on the Ukrainian border in the UN Security Council as war hysteria.

At the first public confrontation between the two sides before the most powerful UN body, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield spoke on Monday in New York of the "largest mobilization of troops in Europe in decades".

Russia's representative Vasily Nebensya replied: "The discussions about the imminent danger of war are provocative in and of themselves.

They almost call for it.

They want it to happen.”

The Russian diplomat pointed out that his country strictly rejects all allegations of planning an invasion.

"And that's what I'm going to do now." The West spreads propaganda and engages in "megaphone diplomacy."

The US requested the meeting because the West feared a Russian invasion of Ukraine, a former Soviet republic.

Russia – like the United States, has always been a UN veto power – could not prevent the meeting.

Washington is demanding the withdrawal of around 100,000 Russian soldiers from the border into the interior.

Western diplomats had said beforehand that a recent and clear Russian refusal to invade the Security Council would be more official than previous statements from Moscow.

This could be used as a bargaining chip in the conflict.

US Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield dismissed the allegations by her Russian counterpart: “Threats of aggression on the Ukrainian border – yes, on the border – are provocative.

Our acknowledgment of the facts on the ground is not provocative." These are combat units "ready to carry out offensive actions in Ukraine."

No Russian concessions

Moscow, on the other hand, emphasizes that all the soldiers are on its sovereign territory and that the West is therefore interfering in Russia's internal affairs.

Nebensya denied that 100,000 soldiers had actually been massed at the border.

He made no concessions to ease the situation.

In a side swipe, the Russian diplomat alluded to an appearance by the recently deceased ex-US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who had campaigned before the Council in 2003 for approval of the Iraq war with intelligence findings that later turned out to be untrue.

Nebensia left the meeting before the Ukrainian Ambassador Serhiy Kyslyzja had a chance to speak.

Kyzlytsia stressed that Moscow has still not provided any credible explanations for its military actions.

The two other veto powers Great Britain and France called on Russia to de-escalate.

Russia had tried to avert the meeting at the last second with a vote.

With 10 of the 15 member states, however, enough countries voted for the deliberations.

With three abstentions, China and its partner Russia voted against the consultations.

In view of Moscow's denials regarding the allegations, there is no basis for the public meeting, said UN ambassador Zhang Jun: "What we urgently need now is quiet diplomacy."

Meanwhile, Estonia has reported a violation of its airspace by a Russian military plane.

A Su-27 fighter jet entered the airspace of the EU and NATO country without permission on Saturday, the army said on Monday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the chargé d'affaires of the Russian embassy.

According to Estonian information, it was the first airspace violation by Russia since the turn of the year - after a total of five incidents last year.

It took place near the Baltic Sea island of Vaindloo and lasted less than a minute.

The Russian aircraft did not transmit a flight plan and did not maintain radio contact with Estonian air traffic control.

In addition, Russia is planning a multi-day military exercise off the coast of Ireland, which is due to start on Tuesday.

The maneuvers from February 1 to 5 around 200 kilometers southwest of the Irish coast have drawn criticism from the government in Dublin.

The area concerned is within Ireland's exclusive economic zone but in international waters.

Irish Foreign and Defense Minister Simon Coveney said the government had no authority to prevent the exercises.