NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has denounced what he called a serious Russian military build-up inside Ukraine and on the Russian side of the border and urged Moscow to pull back its troops.
Mr Stoltenberg said Nato saw movement of troops, equipment, tanks, artillery and also of advanced air defence systems that was in violation of a ceasefire agreement.
Russia denies providing arms or troops to support a separatist pro-Russian rebellion in eastern Ukraine, which began after the removal of a Kremlin-oriented Ukrainian president in February. A ceasefire was agreed in early September, but fighting flared again recently.
Mr Stoltenberg said he had information on a build-up inside Ukraine.
The Nato chief added: "We also see a military build-up on the Russian side of the border. This is a serious military build-up and we call on Russia to pull back its troops."
Russia denied similar accusations last week by Nato's top military commmander, US Air Force General Philip Breedlove, who said the alliance had spotted military equipment arriving from Russia in regions of east Ukraine held by pro-Russian separatist rebels.
General-Major Igor Konashenkov, a Russian Defence Ministry official, dismissed Mr Breedlove's comments as anti-Russian "hot air".
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