Has there been a "buildup" of 175,000 Russian troops on the Ukraine border in January 2022?

Question

Numerous news items have claimed or implied a buildup of 100,000 Russian troops and hundreds of tanks and armoured personnel carriers along its borders. Most are vague about the exact location. The Telegraph provides a map of "Russian military build-up around Ukraine" which shows troops up to 300km from Ukraine but it says in the article "The overall number of Russian troops near Ukraine is now estimated at over 100,000". "on December 3, 2021 the Washington Post reported U.S. intelligence concluded Russia was massing up to 175,000 troops around Ukraine".

I would expect a large fraction of Russia's 1,000,000 troops to be based near the western border where Russia has historically been invaded. I have seen the Americans' images of dozens of trucks in parking lots.

Has there been an increase of Russian troops in this region? Are the troops normally based there?

Interview - January 24, 2022 (Google translate from Ukrainian.): Second last question:

BBC : What is happening near the Ukrainian borders? The number of troops is increasing, are they maneuvering?

Alexei Danilov [Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Ukraine] : The number of Russian troops is not increasing in the form in which many people paint today. Do they have maneuvers there - yes, but they were in them all the time. This is their territory, they have the right to move left and right there. Is it unpleasant for us? Yes, it's unpleasant, but it's not news to us. If this is news to someone in the West, I apologize.

Second question:

BBC : Why did they change their attitude to this situation? Why did these loud statements start right now?

Alexei Danilov: It is difficult for us to say. Each country lives in its own political environment. Each country has its own processes, including political ones. Today there is a situation of post-war policy, a situation related to China, Taiwan, a lot is happening in the world. There were changes in Germany, elections in France. That is, domestic political events that take place in many countries around the world, they are in some cases the dominant of certain processes.

There is no overconcentration of Russian forces near Ukraine’s border, says Volodymyr Zelensky

Answer 1

The existence of the troop buildup is undisputed by everyone involved. All the major western powers agree, pretty much all news organizations agree. The Russians themselves do not deny it, even in the links provided in the question - they just claim that the increase is part of normal operations and not for the purpose of invading Ukraine. Many of the troops currently bordering Ukraine travelled there from the Far East in 2021.

There are photos of troops and equipment a few kilometres from the Ukraine border.

Contrary to your question, countries do not in fact usually station troops on a border, except during time of imminent war. In fact, for defense, most troops are not usually stationed near the border at all. Troops right on a border can be easily surrounded in case of an attack. During the Cold War, for example, troops in Western Europe were stationed hundreds of kilometres from the border. Troops are, however, concentrated on a border by a country that wishes to attack that border.