NATO is worried Russia could be trying to create a pretext for an invasion in Ukraine, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, commenting on reports of shelling across the ceasefire line in the eastern Ukrainian region of the Donbass.
"We are concerned that Russia is trying to stage a pretext for an armed attack against Ukraine, there is still no clarity, no certainty about the Russian intentions," Stoltenberg told reporters after a two-day meeting of NATO defence ministers at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels.
President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia does not want a war in Europe.