NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday criticised increased Russian military activity inside Ukraine and urged Moscow to pull its troops back.<br /><br />The former Norwegian prime minister, who took up the job on October 1st, said there is “a military build-up inside Ukraine, but we are also seeing a build-up on the Russian side of the border.<br /><br />“We are speaking of troops, equipment, artillery, very modern air-defence systems. This is a serious military build-up,” he added.<br /><br />Russia has long denied providing arms or troops to support pro-Russian separatist groups in eastern Ukraine.<br /><br />NATO has also said that Russian planes have flown over European airspace in an apparent bid to test the alliance’s response.<br /><br />There has since been speculation that the increased tensions might tempt Sweden and Finland to seek NATO membership.
