The Speaker of the Russian State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, called for parliamentary consultations next week to discuss recognizing the independence of the Donbas region from Ukraine.

These developments were accompanied by Russian reinforcements and maneuvers in more than one region. Interfax news agency reported on Friday that Russia is sending two battalions of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to Belarus to participate in military training there next month, at a time when tensions with the West over Ukraine are at an all-time high.

This week, Russian military soldiers and equipment began arriving in Belarus for the "Allied Resolve" drills, which will take place along Belarus' western border.

In response to media questioning, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said that the US Department of State's pronouncements concerning Moscow's purported disinformation activities in Ukraine merely exacerbated the deterioration of Russian-US relations.

According to a statement published on the embassy’s Facebook page, the Ambassador said: "Within a few hours, Americans published as many as three documents designed to incriminate Russian authorities and state media. We didn't see anything new." He added that "Washington keeps on blowing a bubble with baseless accusations and continues to deny objective facts about the current developments in Ukraine calling them ‘myths of Russian propaganda’."

"It looks like the United States in advance lays the ground for reducing the discussion on security guarantees in Europe to the notorious ‘Russian aggression’ against Ukraine," Antonov noted.

Lavrov: the US to respond to Russian security proposals next week

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced Friday that Antony Blinken promised to provide written responses to Russian security proposals next week.

Lavrov stressed that Russia has no plans to attack or invade Ukraine and slammed the West for its "hysteria" regarding the matter.

According to the Russian Foreign Minister, today's meeting was temporary, and Blinken expressed his satisfaction with the exchange of views, noting that "we heard from Blinken repeated proofs of the right of countries to form alliances and presented counter-evidence."

In contrast, Blinken said he had warned Lavrov that Russian forces crossing the border into Ukraine would be considered an invasion and lead to a subsequent response, noting that the US and Russia are on their way to a better understanding of each other's positions after the Geneva meeting.

"These are difficult issues we are facing, and resolving them won't be done quickly. I don't expect we'll solve them in Geneva," Blinken said in Geneva.

US President Joe Biden said Wednesday during his formal news conference on the eve of his one-year anniversary in the White House that Putin would "pay a dear price" if he moves forward with a military incursion.

He also asserted his belief that Russia is preparing to take action on Ukraine, although he does not think the Kremlin has made a final decision.