Vladimir Putin's moves in eastern Ukraine could be the start of a full-scale invasion, US and Western officials have warned.
The Russian President has recognised breakaway Ukrainian territories as independent, and US officials feel this could be the opening phase of a larger military operation in Ukraine.
A senior US administration official told reporters on Monday: "President Putin is accelerating the very conflict that he's created".
US and Western officials responded following Putin's decision to sign a decree that recognised Russia-backed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LNR) as independent territories.
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They feel the action gives Putin justification to move forces into the area, and potentially wage further aggression towards Ukraine in the name of protecting separatist regions, according to CNN.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement: "Russia's announcement is nothing more than theater, apparently designed to create a pretext for a further invasion of Ukraine".
The US have further concerns that Putin could move Russian troops into the Donbas region in the coming days, a senior US official familiar with the latest intelligence told CNN.
Many officials' worst fears were confirmed when the Kremlin announced the deployment of "peace-keeping" forces in eastern Ukraine.
A European diplomat said regarding the move: "That's your invasion, if we don't act on this as we have said we would in case of a further invasion, we will have seriously undermined our credibility".
Members of the upper house, the Federation Council, voted unanimously to allow Mr Putin to use military force outside Russia – effectively formalising a Russian military deployment to the rebel regions, where an eight-year conflict has killed nearly 14,000 people.
Shortly afterwards, Mr Putin laid out three conditions to end the crisis that has threatened to plunge Europe back into war, raising the spectre of massive casualties, energy shortages and economic chaos around the globe.
He called for international recognition of Crimea as part of Russia, an end to Ukraine’s Nato membership bid and a halt to weapons shipments there.
The West has decried Russia’s annexation of Crimea as a violation of international law and has previously flatly rejected permanently barring Ukraine from the Nato alliance.
