'Lot of concern' over Russian military activity near Ukraine, top U.S. general says

FILE PHOTO: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Army General Mark A. Milley, responds to questions during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on "Ending the U.S. Military Mission in Afghanistan" in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, U.S., September 29, 2021. Rod Lamkey/Pool via REUTERS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States is tracking enough indicators and warnings surrounding Russian military activity near Ukraine to trigger "a lot of concern" and Russian rhetoric appears increasingly strident, the top U.S. military officer said late on Thursday.

Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to speculate about the kinds of options the United States might consider in the event of a Russian invasion. But Milley, in some of his most extensive remarks on the crisis, stressed the importance of Ukraine's sovereignty to Washington and to the NATO alliance.