NATO vows to support Ukraine, warns Russia on troop buildup

“NATO stands with Ukraine,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, calling the Russian movements “unjustified, unexplained and deeply concerning.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed the Western military alliance’s “unwavering” support for Ukraine and warned Moscow on Tuesday not to push its troop buildup along Russia’s border with the neighbouring country. “NATO stands with Ukraine,” Mr. Stoltenberg said during a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, calling the Russian movements “unjustified, unexplained and deeply concerning.” The comments came amid a rise in cease-fire violations in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces have been locked in a conflict since Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. More than 14,000 people have died in fighting in eastern Ukraine since 2014, and efforts to negotiate a political settlement have stalled. Mr. Stoltenberg called Moscow’s recent troop deployment the biggest military buildup since the conflict in eastern Ukraine began.