NATO states accumulation of Russian troops in SFD near Ukrainian border

The NATO's military command has posted satellite photos, which allegedly depict Russian military formations near the Ukrainian border.

NATO leaders estimate that some 35-40 thousand Russian soldiers are deployed in the Rostov Region and Krasnodar Territory near the border with Ukraine. Moscow has objected saying that the photos have nothing to do with the present time; however, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the General Staff also report the continuing activity of Russian troops near the border.

The BBC reports that Philip Breedlove, the NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, wrote in his Twitter about the Russian troops near Ukraine are fully equipped and ready to invade.

Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said that Russia does not carry out any unscheduled militarily significant activities in its territory adjacent to Ukraine; and treats the charges of troop build-up as ungrounded.

Meanwhile, Major-General Alexander Rozmaznin, Deputy Chief of the Command Centre of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has noted that the contingent of Russian troops in the Crimea remains the same; however, they deploy field hospitals, communications and command centres, in particular, in the Kharkov direction.