Russia is a bully, Abbott says

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has described Russia as a "bully" over its intervention in Ukraine.

Mr Abbott says the situation is "fluid and dangerous" but he hopes the parties will pull back from the brink of war.

"Really, the only way to resolve it is for Russia to pull back, for Russia to stop what appears to be a blatant aggression against a neighbour that has done nothing to justify it," he told the Nine Network on Tuesday.

Mr Abbott was asked what the international community could do to stop Russia.

"When you're up against a bully, you're often faced with doing nothing or doing something and doing something can have very dire consequences indeed," he said. "But Australia is consulting with our friends and allies."

Asked if Australia would contribute to any intervention force, Mr Abbott said: "I think we're a long way away from that and I don't want to make a difficult situation worse by engaging in alarmist speculation."

Ukraine's new West-leaning government has accused Russia of staging a de facto invasion by deploying troops in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.

But Moscow insists it might be forced to protect ethnic Russians in Ukraine amid unrest following the uprising against fugitive former president Viktor Yanukovych.