Ukraine crisis meetings

The escalating crisis in eastern Ukraine has unleashed a flurry of diplomatic activity, as Western nations increasingly see their suspicions of direct Russian involvement in the conflict confirmed.

NATO ambassadors held talks in Brussels on Friday with the head of Ukraine's mission at the alliance, Ihor Dolhov.

Following the meeting, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russian intervention in Ukraine must stop.

"We urge Russia to cease its illegal military actions," he said.

NATO said on Thursday that at least 1,000 Russian troops were in Ukraine, later releasing satellite photos purporting to show Russian self-propelled artillery units moving last week. It also said Russia had massed 20,000 troops near the border.

Appeal for help

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk earlier this week asked the alliance for "practical help" in dealing with the insurgency in the east of his country, which pits pro-Russian separatists - who Ukraine alleges are supported by Russian troops - against government forces.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko is also due to travel to a NATO summit in Newport, Wales next week where he is scheduled to meet with US President Barack Obama.

Any move by Ukraine toward NATO will be met with disapproval from Moscow, which fears having another member of the alliance on its direct border.

More sanctions?

Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers have gathered for an informal meeting in Milan, Italy, where they were to debate adopting a tougher stance toward Moscow on the Ukraine crisis as calls to step up economic sanctions grow.

No decision on new sanctions was, however, likely at Friday's meeting, with discussions likely only to prepare possible further steps that could be announced at a summit of the bloc's 28 leaders on Saturday.

The EU and the United States have already imposed sanctions against dozens of Russian officials, several companies and the country's financial industry, with Moscow retailiating by banning food imports.

Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed on Thursday that Russia must face further consequences for its actions.

'Very serious developments'

In view of growing evidence of a Russian military presence in eastern Ukraine - which Moscow again denied on Friday - the German government is now speaking of a "military intervention" by Moscow.

"We expect explanations from Russia on the reports of the repeated violations of the Ukrainian borders that add up to a military intervention," government spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Friday.

He called the developments in Ukraine "very serious and completely unjustifiable," saying that there had been indications of the "presence of Russians and the use of Russian weapons" for some time.

'Control from Moscow'

This comes after top separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko agreed to an appeal by Russian President Vladimir Putin to open a humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian troops surrounded in the town of Ilovaysk.

Zakharenko told Russian television that his men would let Kyiv troops withdraw if they left behind their weapons.

Ukrainian security chiefs said in a statement that the agreement showded the degree to which the rebels were controlled from the Kremlin.

According to UN figures issued on Friday, almost 2,600 people have been killed since April when the separatists began their insurgency against Kyiv's rule.

tj/hc (AP, AFP, dpa)