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Kiev, Ukraine Ukraine accused Russia on Wednesday of conducting a large military buildup near the countries border that raises the threat of an invasion, but Moscow denied that.

Andriy Parubiy, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, told reporters in Kiev that Russia has deployed more than 80,000 troops, up to 270 tanks and 140 combat planes close to the border, creating the threat of a full-scale invasion from various directions.

Parubiy said Russian troops are based in the immediate vicinity of the Ukrainian border, some of them as close as a two- or three-hour drive from Kiev, the Ukrainian capital.

In Moscow, Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov denied a military buildup on the nearly 1,250-mile border.

He also said Moscow has accepted a request that Ukraine made Tuesday to conduct a surveillance flight over Russian territory.

Russian forces have secured control over Ukraines Crimean Peninsula, and Russias parliament has given President Vladimir Putin permission to use the military to protect Russian speakers in Ukraine.

Crimea plans to hold a referendum on Sunday that will ask residents if they want the territory to become part of Russia. Ukraines government and Western nations have denounced the referendum as illegitimate and warned Russia against trying to annex Crimea.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama expressed hope Wednesday that the referendum can be halted, as he met with the new leader of the former Soviet republic.

Sitting side by side in the Oval Office with Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Obama said he hoped last-ditch diplomatic efforts might lead to a rethinking of the referendum.

As Obama and Yatsenyuk met, a U.S. Senate committee advanced a measure to impose significant sanctions on Russia a bid to pressure Putin to pull Russian troops out of Crimea. The measure, which now would go to the full Senate, would authorize $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraines new government and allow the Obama administration to impose economic penalties on Russian officials responsible for the intervention in Crimea or culpable of gross corruption.

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Ukraine alleges Russian military buildup on border