NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Friday condemned what he called a "serious escalation of Russian aggression" in Ukraine and said Moscow is carrying out direct military operations there, reports GHN based on CNN.
Accusing Moscow of "hollow denials," Rasmussen said that Russian troops had illegally crossed the border into Ukraine and that this was not an isolated action but part of a campaign to "destabilize Ukraine as a sovereign nation."
Rasmussen, who spoke after a meeting of NATO ambassadors in Brussels, Belgium, said Russia's action was a blatant violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and "defies all diplomatic efforts for a peaceful solution."
NATO on Thursday produced what it says are satellite images showing Russian troops engaged in military operations inside Ukraine.
On the same day, a U.S. official accused Russia of sending up to 1,000 of its soldiers into southern Ukraine to fight alongside the rebels. An emergency U.N. Security Council was summoned over the crisis.
Russia continues to deny that it is either supporting the rebel forces or has sent its own forces over the border.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the NATO evidence at a news conference in Moscow on Friday.
Referring to past satellite images presented by NATO apparently showing a buildup of Russian forces on Ukraine's border, he claimed that "it turned out those were images from computer games -- the latest accusations are pretty similar."
Lavrov said no evidence of a purported incursion was presented to Russia, adding, "I do believe that hiding the evidence is an outstanding characteristic of the U.S. and many EU countries" with regards to Ukraine.