U.S. tells Russia to pull back from Ukraine or face painful sanctions

FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba speaks at the NATO Foreign Ministers summit in Riga, Latvia December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins

RIGA (Reuters) - The United States urged Russia on Wednesday to pull back its troops from the Ukrainian border, warning that a Russian invasion would provoke sanctions that would hit Moscow harder than any imposed until now.

"We don't know whether President (Vladimir) Putin has made the decision to invade. We do know that he is putting in place the capacity to do so on short order should he so decide," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.