Russia 'increases aid to rebels'

Nato’s chief has reported a sizeable Russian military build up on the border with Ukraine which he said would enable pro-Moscow separatists to launch a new offensive with little warning.
Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said Russia has substantially stepped up supplies to the rebels, as well as providing them with advanced training and equipment like drones, despite a ceasefire.
 Mr Stoltenberg said the Russian moves undermine the ceasefire declared in eastern Ukraine and violate the Minsk agreements entered into by Moscow. He said more than 1,000 pieces of Russian military equipment have been moved over the past month, including tanks, artillery and air defence units.
This “gives reason for great concern”, he said, and would enable the separatists to go on the offensive again with little warning.
He said the US-led defence alliance is not certain about the intentions of Moscow and the pro-Russian rebels, “but we are certain about the capabilities”.
Russian officials hit back claiming US military instructors were training Ukrainian national guardsmen in urban fighting techniques in the same eastern regions where Ukrainian forces and separatists have been fighting for the past year.
In Washington, the US State Department rejected the claim, saying all the activity was in western Ukraine near the border with Poland.
“We’ve been doing this for about 20 years now,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said, calling the Russian statement “ridiculous”.