Vladimir Putin may push further into Eastern Europe after he takes over Ukraine, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has said.

The grim warning comes as satellite images show Russians soldiers and artillery building up in the Belarusian city of Brest – just 10 miles east of the Polish border.

Moscow is said to have assembled more than 50 heavy equipment transporters at a training area in near the city, according to Pentagon national security reporter Jack Detsch.

It has also added more equipment at a nearby railyard, the correspondent for Foreign Policy magazine added.

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Exactly why Russia has amassed these troops is unclear, but Blinken fears Putin may have goals beyond Ukraine.

He told CBS Evening News: ‘You don’t need intelligence to tell you that that’s exactly what President Putin wants.

‘He’s made clear that he’d like to reconstitute the Soviet empire. Short of that, he’d like to reassert a sphere of influence around neighbouring countries that were once part of the Soviet bloc.

‘And short of that, he’d like to make sure that all of these countries are somehow neutral.’

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NATO countries, including the US and the UK, have stressed that they will not send troops into Ukraine, which is not a member of the alliance.

As it amassed as many as 190,000 troops along the Ukrainian border in a matter of weeks, Russia continually denied plans to invade.

But it demanded legal guarantees that Ukraine is never allowed to join NATO, as it feels the pact has expanded too far eastwards and poses a security threat.

While Ukraine has received reports from the alliance’s members and has contributed to NATO missions, it is not immediately close to joining.

First Ukraine would need to improve its political and legal systems and rid them of corruption.

The country has also faced fighting from pro-Moscow separatists since 2014 – meaning it is far too unstable to be considered for NATO any time soon.

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