NATO chief flies to Ukraine amid Russian troop buildup fears

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen will visit Ukraine Thursday, amid growing fears of a major Russian incursion as the Alliance warns of a troop buildup at the border. On the sanctions front, Russia retaliated Wednesday for recent US and EU measures, slapping one-year bans and limits on food and agricultural imports from the countries involved. NATO said Russia had increased the number of ‘combat-ready’ troops on its border with Ukraine to 20,000 from 12,000 in mid-July. Ukrainian forces also carried out their first air strike on the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, as they said they were preparing to liberate the city, although they also reported their highest death toll in weeks in the face of fierce rebel bombardments. ‘This is a dangerous situation,’ NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said, warning that ‘Russia could use the pretext of a humanitarian or peacekeeping mission as an excuse to send troops into eastern Ukraine’. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said ‘the threat of a direct intervention (by Russia into Ukraine) is certainly greater than it was even a few days ago’. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to use his influence with the separatists for the ‘stabilisation’ of Ukraine. Moscow said those making the claims about their troop movements were ‘selling soap bubbles’. ‘Movements of such forces of thousands of troops and equipment are not possible in such a short time,’ said Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenikov, according to AFP.