Western intelligence says Russia is amassing aircraft on Ukraine's border, as countries look to the skies to break deadlock

• Russia is gathering air power at Ukraine's border, according to unnamed Western officials.
• US defense secretary Lloyd Austin denied this, but called on the West to rush air defenses to Ukraine.
• Russia has largely held back on committing its jets to Ukrainian airspace for much of the conflict.

Western officials are warning of an accumulation of Russian aircraft on Ukraine's borders, potentially signaling a major air offensive as the invasion approaches its one-year anniversary, according to multiple reports.

NATO allies have noted both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft as part of the build-up, unnamed Western officials told the Financial Times.