UN chief says security threat amid Russia, Ukraine crisis is highest since Cold War

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres says the world faces its gravest threat in years ahead of a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"I am often asked whether we are in a new Cold War," Guterres said at a Munich security conference Friday, CNBC TV 18 reported.

"My answer is that the threat to global security now is more complex and probably higher than at that time," he added.

The comment comes as the U.S. envoy to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said there are 169,000 to 190,000 Russian troops on Ukraine's border, up from 100,000 in January.

President Biden warned Thursday that he expects an incursion to begin soon.

"Yes, I do," Biden told reporters when asked if he believes Moscow will invade its smaller neighbor. "My sense is it will happen within the next several days."

Western countries have been working for weeks to use diplomacy to deescalate tensions, and Guterres said it is still possible to get out of this without bloodshed.

"I urge all parties to be extremely careful with their rhetoric. Public statements should aim to reduce tensions, not inflame them," he reportedly said.

Russia has said it will not invade Ukraine and is in fact pulling back troops at the border, but Western countries have said there is no evidence of troop reduction and Moscow could be planning false flag operations as an excuse to attack.

"During the decades-long standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States in the 20th century, there were mechanisms that enabled the protagonists to calculate risks and use back-channels to prevent crises," Guterres said. "Today, many of those systems no longer exist and most of the people trained to use them are no longer here with us."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to meet with Russia's foreign minister in Europe next week to discuss the conflict, as long as Russia does not attack Ukraine before that time.