Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne has urged Australians to leave Ukraine now as tensions rise in the area.

More than 100,000 Russian troops have continued to amass on the Russia-Ukraine border, increasing fears that an invasion is imminent.

“There are about … 1400 Australians with whom we are in contact,” Ms Payne said on 2GB Drive.

“Now that is individual Australians or permanent residents and their families, so the group total’s around 1400.

“Many have been the for a very long period of time, and in fact essentially that’s there home … and we’ve endeavoured through the post in Kiev, and through my department, to engage in contact with them.

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