US President Joe Biden has said he thinks his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will "move in" on Ukraine but does not want "full-blown war".
He told a news conference Mr Putin would pay a "serious and dear price" for invading, but indicated a minor incursion might be treated differently.
The White House later stressed any Russian military move would be met with a swift, severe response from the West.
The Kremlin warned the comments could further destabilise the situation.
Russia has some 100,000 troops near the border but denies planning an invasion.
President Putin has made a series of demands to the West, insisting Ukraine should never be allowed to join Nato and that the defensive alliance abandons military activity in Eastern Europe.
"We have made it clear that any further eastward expansion of Nato is unacceptable," Mr Putin said at a televised press conference last month.
Mr Putin's exact reasons for the build up of Russian troops near Ukraine's border are unknown, but many believe it is an attempt to force the West to take Russia's security demands seriously.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting foreign ministers from Germany, France and the UK to co-ordinate Western strategy over a potential invasion of Ukraine. He has previously warned that Russia could attack Ukraine at short notice.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60061300