Ukraine crisis: Russian troops crossed border, Nato says

Nato has seen Russian military equipment and Russian combat troops entering Ukraine this week, its top commander Gen Philip Breedlove says.

Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg later urged Russia to pull back its forces.

Russia’s defence ministry denied sending troops to eastern Ukraine to help pro-Russian separatists there.

The European OSCE monitoring mission has warned of “a real risk” of further escalation in a conflict that has killed more than 4,000 people.

Heavy artillery fire rocked the east Ukrainian city of Donetsk, the industrial hub held by pro-Russian separatist rebels, on Wednesday.

There were also reports of fighting near the rebel-held city of Luhansk, with one Ukrainian soldier killed and another injured, according to Ukrainian security forces.

Analysis: Jonathan Marcus, BBC defence and diplomatic correspondent

Events in Ukraine seem to be turning full circle.

Back in August, Nato was warning about the deployment of Russian artillery batteries inside Ukraine, the supply of Russian military equipment to the rebel forces and the build-up of further Russian combat units at the Ukrainian frontier.

Since then many of these units have been withdrawn.

But now with tensions renewed, Nato’s Supreme Commander in Europe General Philip Breedlove has confirmed that over the past two days, Nato has seen columns of Russian armour, artillery and crucially – combat troops – entering Ukraine.

The question now is whether this is just a re-run of events in the summer or does a more significant clash beckon, perhaps one where the Kremlin may decide – in its terms – to teach the Ukrainians a military lesson.

General Breedlove also confirmed that Nato believes Russia is deploying nuclear-capable weapons to Crimea – a reference to reports that Russia is deploying short-range Iskander ballistic missiles there that could potentially be equipped with nuclear warheads.

BBC