Interfax quotes "Kommersant" as saying that German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will visit Moscow next week to discuss the Ukraine crisis, adding that Steinmeier might first stop in Kyiv.
NATO says Russian military equipment entering eastern Ukraine. -- AFP
More via AFP:
"Across the last two days we have seen the same thing that OSCE is reporting. We have seen columns of Russian equipment, primarily Russian tanks, Russian artillery, Russian air defence systems and Russian combat troops entering into Ukraine," US General Philip Breedlove said on a visit to Sofia.
Here's an item from our news desk on General Breedlove's comments:
NATO's top commander says the alliance has observed columns of Russian military equipment entering eastern Ukraine in the past two days.
Speaking in Sofia on November 12, U.S. General Philip Breedlove said the columns included Russian tanks, artillery, air defense systems, and combat troops.
"We do not have a good picture at this time of how many. We agree that there are multiple columns that we have seen," Breedlove said.
The Russian Defense Ministry later denied that Russia’s armed forces were present in Ukraine.
The Interfax news agency quoted ministry spokesman General-Major Igor Konashenkov as saying "there was and is no evidence" behind such statements.
Breedlove made the comments after a report from the OSCE said monitors had seen a convoy of 43 unmarked military trucks -- five towing howitzer artillery pieces and five towing multi-launch rocket systems -- travelling into the rebel stronghold of Donetsk on November 11.
Meanwhile, reports said heavy shelling rocked Donetsk, one of two provincial capitals held by pro-Russian rebels, on November 12.
An AFP correspondent said mortar shells were being fired from an area near the city center toward government-held positions around Donetsk's international airport.
The military movements and frequent shelling have raised fears of an escalation of the conflict that persists despite a September 5 cease-fire and has killed more than 4,000 people since April.
(AFP, Reuters)