“In recent weeks, we have seen a large and unusual concentration of Russian forces near Ukraine’s borders,” Stoltenberg said in a joint news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleb.
Any further provocation or aggressive actions by Russia would raise serious concerns, the NATO Secretary General said, adding that the Alliance was following the situation very closely.
Kuleba stressed the importance of close cooperation now to deter Russia. Whatever the cost of deterrence, the price of a new conflict will be higher, the minister warned.
Russia gathered 100,000 troops for training at Ukraine’s borders in March, and some of them then remained in the border areas.
Kiev said this month that several units of the Russian army remained on the Ukrainian border, bringing the total number of Russian troops there to 90,000.
Moscow has denied allegations of a concentration of troops in recent weeks, saying it could relocate its territory as it wished.
