KUALA LUMPUR: Police have stepped up patrols near the Russia and Ukraine embassies in the city in view of the ongoing conflict between the two nations.

       Kuala Lumpur police chief Comm Datuk Azmi Abu Kassim said patrols near the two locations were increased two weeks ago.

       "So far, the situation is under control," he said when contacted on Friday (Feb 25).

       Comm Azmi said police are monitoring the situation closely to avoid any untoward incident.

       "We have paid close attention to both embassies and are monitoring the developments," he added.

       On Thursday (Feb 24), Russia launched wide-ranging attacks on Ukraine, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes and artillery, as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee.

       Ukraine's government said Russian tanks and troops rolled across the border in a "full-scale war" that could rewrite the geopolitical order and whose fallout had already reverberated around the world.

       In unleashing Moscow's most aggressive action since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, President Vladimir Putin deflected global condemnation and increased sanctions, and made references to his country’s nuclear arsenal.

       He threatened any country attempting to interfere with "consequences you have never seen."