NATO: Kremlin trying to further aggravate situation in Donbas

NATO Deputy Secretary-General Alexander Vershbow said this in an interview with the Ukrainian news service TSN.

"The recruited local forces, so-called volunteers from Russia, as well as regular Russian troops, operate here [in Donbas]. In spite of the fact that the Russian military removed insignia and invented nicknames, we know exactly, not only from intelligence but also from public resources, in particular from social networks, that a large number of Russian servicemen are in eastern Ukraine now," he said.

The NATO Deputy Secretary-General stressed that the presence of Russian troops in Donbas was seen as though the Kremlin was trying to further aggravate the situation. The use of heavy weapons and ceasefire violations testify to this, Vershbow believes.

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NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow said this in an interview with TSN Ukrainian news service.

"The recruited local forces, the so-called volunteers from Russia, as well as regular Russian troops, operate here [in Donbas]. In spite of the fact that the Russian military took off markings and invented the call signs, we know exactly, not only from intelligence but also from public resources, in particular from social networks, that a large number of Russian servicemen stays in eastern Ukraine now," he said.

The NATO Deputy Secretary General stressed that the presence of Russian troops in Donbas was seen as if the Kremlin was trying to further aggravate the situation. Use of heavy weapons and the ceasefire violations testify to this, Vershbow believes.

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