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(CNN) --
Thursday's call between US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "didn't go well," a senior Ukrainian official told CNN, amid disagreements over " risk levels" of a Russian attack.
The White House, however, refuted the official's version, warning that anonymous sources were "filtering falsehoods."
They did say that Biden warned Zelensky that an imminent invasion is a "distinct possibility."
In the call, which the Ukrainian official described as "long and frank," Biden warned his Ukrainian counterpart that a Russian attack could be imminent, saying an invasion was almost certain once the ground froze in late February. , according to the official.
However, Zelensky reaffirmed his position that the threat from Russia remains "dangerous but ambiguous," and an attack is not certain, the official said.
Minute by Minute: all the news about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine
National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne disputed the senior Ukrainian official's description of the call.
"Anonymous sources are 'leaking' falsehoods," he told CNN.
"President Biden said there is a distinct possibility that the Russians will invade Ukraine in February. He has said it publicly and we have been warning about it for months. Reports of anything more or different than that are completely false."
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The frank discussion between the two leaders comes as the United States and NATO continue to brace for the prospect of a Russian invasion.
Although they have insisted on the need for diplomacy, the White House has warned that an invasion could be imminent with tens of thousands of Russian troops concentrated on the Ukrainian border.
Students attend emergency drill in Ukraine 0:48
The call lasted an hour and 20 minutes on Thursday, according to a US national security official, underscoring the lengthy issues the two leaders had to discuss amid the Russian troop buildup.
The official described the call as "long and serious" but "productive" as Biden and Zelensky discussed recent Russian aggression.
Biden told Zelensky that U.S. officials have assessed that an invasion could happen in February, but did not say it definitely would, the official said.
White House says Biden promised the US would 'respond decisively' if Russia invades
A White House readout of the call said Biden "reassured" Zelensky that the United States "would respond decisively if Russia continues to invade Ukraine."
Biden also said the US will explore "additional macroeconomic support" to help the Ukrainian economy as a result of Russia's military buildup.
"President Biden noted that the United States provided Ukraine with more than $500 million in humanitarian and development assistance in the past year, and is exploring additional macroeconomic support to help Ukraine's economy amid pressure resulting from Russia's military buildup," the White House said at the reading.
A Zelensky spokesman also disputed the Ukrainian official's characterization of the call.
Zelensky tweeted that he and Biden had a lengthy call in which they "discussed recent diplomatic efforts on de-escalation and agreed on joint actions for the future."
The Ukrainian president said that he thanked Biden for the ongoing military assistance and said that "the possibilities of financial support to Ukraine were also discussed."
US, NATO security responses are not enough for Russia, says Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
However, the senior Ukrainian official told CNN that Biden said significantly more military aid would not be offered to Ukraine.
Zelensky urged his US counterpart to "calm down the messages", warning of the economic impact of the panic, according to the official.
He also said that Ukrainian intelligence sees the threat differently.
The Ukrainian leader noted a recent breakthrough in negotiations with Russia in Paris, saying he hoped the ceasefire agreement with rebels in eastern Ukraine would stick.
He also said talks between the US, Russia and NATO still have some way to go before diplomatic efforts run out, the official said.
Earlier, another source on the US side said that Zelensky is recognized in the White House as having "multiple audiences" and is trying to balance them.
"On the one hand, he wants help, but he has to assure his people that he has the situation under control. It's a difficult balance," the source said.
Pentagon says Russian force buildup continues
Russia's military buildup along the Ukrainian border has increased in the past 24 hours, the Pentagon said Thursday, as the United States awaits Russian President Vladimir Putin's response to his written proposals submitted to Moscow on Wednesday.
"We continue to see, even in the last 24 hours, a further build-up of credible fighting forces arranged by the Russians in, again, the western part of their country and in Belarus," Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said. at a press conference.
Kirby described the buildup as "not dramatic" but "not sclerotic either".
The United States remains hopeful that diplomatic efforts with Russia could lead to a de-escalation.
On Wednesday, the US and NATO separately submitted written responses to Russia's concerns, an opening that Moscow had requested.
Although the US did not reveal the contents of the document, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Wednesday that it did not give rise to NATO's "open door policy", leaving the US at odds. with Russia's central demand that NATO commit to never admitting Ukraine.
Putin read the US and NATO responses, a Kremlin spokesman said Thursday, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said they did not address Russia's main concerns.
"There is no positive reaction on the main issue in this document," Lavrov told reporters in Moscow.
"The main issue is our clear position on the inadmissibility of NATO's further expansion to the East and the deployment of attack weapons that could threaten the territory of the Russian Federation."
Russian forces increase their presence near Ukraine 0:48
Blinken said Thursday that he had "heard a variety of initial responses from different people in Russia to the document that we shared with them, as well as the document that NATO shared with them."
"But the answer that counts is that of President Putin, and as we understand it, according to the Russians, these papers are on his table," he said in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
"And we await his response, which I am sure will be conveyed through Foreign Minister Lavrov and others in the coming days. That is what matters most," he added.
This Thursday night, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, called for a UN Security Council meeting on the crisis to be held on Monday.
US officials have continued to insist they were prepared to act regardless of whether Russia pursues diplomacy or further aggression toward Ukraine, and on Thursday European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said "nothing is off the table." " regarding sanctions in case Moscow invades the country, including the removal of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany and the withdrawal of Russia from the SWIFT international payment system.
"The commission is responsible for designing, shaping and developing the sanctions," von der Leyen told CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
"We are very clear that if there is any further aggression or military aggression by Russia against Ukraine, there will be massive consequences, and serious costs to Russia."
Pentagon details troops on high alert
Earlier this week, as many as 8,500 US troops were placed on high alert to prepare for deployment to Eastern Europe.
Those troops include elements of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as well as elements of the 18th Airborne Corps, the 101st Airborne Division and the 4th Infantry Division, Kirby said Thursday.
These units include "medical support, air support, logistics support" and "combat formation," the Pentagon spokesman said.
Inside Europe, Kirby said the US European Command's chief general, Gen. Tod Wolters, was "taking prudent steps" to ensure that US troops based in Europe could be moved within the continent if necessary.
The Pentagon "does not rule out" the possibility of moving forces in Europe to "help bolster the capabilities of NATO allies," Kirby said.
CNN reported Wednesday that the US and a handful of allies are in talks to deploy thousands more troops to NATO's Eastern European countries ahead of any possible Russian invasion of Ukraine as a show of support for Russia's ongoing aggression. Moscow, according to three US officials familiar with the talks.
Among the countries considering accepting the deployments are Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary.
The deployments would be approximately 1,000 troops in each country and would be similar to the forward battle groups currently stationed in the Baltic States and Poland.
"We take our engagement with NATO very seriously. And we're going to consult with allies, as we certainly have in the coming days. And if there are ways that we can help bolster their capabilities to help their defensive postures, we'll seriously consider that," Kirby said.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Jennifer Hansler, Natasha Bertrand, Ellie Kaufman and Kylie Atwood contributed reporting.
Joe BidenRussiaUkraineVolodymyr Zelensky