Nato says Russia sending columns of troops and weapons into Ukraine
General warns that columns of soldiers and weapons had crossed border
Nato has accused Russia of sending troops and weapons into eastern Ukraine, as Ukrainian officials announced that they are bracing for a return to hostilities in the eastern part of the country.
US General Philip Breedlove, Nato's top commander, said the Western alliance had observed "columns of Russian equipment, primarily Russian tanks, Russian artillery, Russian air-defence systems and Russian combat troops, entering into Ukraine" over the past few days.
"There is no question any more about Russia's direct military involvement in Ukraine," Breedlove said, adding that Nato had observed "multiple columns" moving into Ukraine, but did not cite a figure.
General Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry, swiftly dismissed the accusations as "hot air", arguing that there are "no facts" to support "the supposed presence of Russian armed forces in Ukraine."
But Breedlove's charges are only the latest alarm bell Nato and its allies have sounded in recent days warning of Russian military activity along and across the Ukrainian border.
Last week, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Nato had observed Russian troops moving closer to the Ukrainian border. By Friday, Ukraine had accused Russia of sending troops, tanks and weapons into eastern Ukraine - the same day the Ukrainian military claimed to have killed up to 200 pro-Russian separatist fighters during a skirmish around the Donetsk airport.
Over the past few days, monitors working for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe have reported seeing convoys of weapons and other military systems moving west through eastern Ukraine.
The situation threatens to derail a tenuous two-month-old ceasefire between government troops and pro-Russian militias fighting for control of eastern Ukraine.
Tensions have been quickly escalating since November 2 elections in Ukraine's rebel-held eastern territories, which Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said last week had jeopardised "the entire peace process" - but which Russian officials said they would respect. Poroshenko also called last week for deploying military units to the east and south of Ukraine to safeguard against potential attacks from pro-Russian separatists.
A representative of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said separatists had no plans to attack the Ukrainian military but accused the Ukrainian military of stepping up attacks against areas controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
"Kiev has repeatedly said it is planning an offensive operation. We must be ready to rebuff it," said Miroslav Rudenko, deputy chairman of the Donetsk People's Republic's parliament.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by telephone about the situation in Ukraine. Lavrov stressed the importance of fostering direct dialogue between Kiev and representatives of pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk during the call, according to the Russian foreign ministry.
