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Russian troops have been present in the east of Ukraine since the beginning of the armed conflict in April 2014, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute has said, Radio Liberty has reported.
Russian military experts are exercising command and control functions in the conflict, and also operating sophisticated equipment that untrained separatists are not able to use, Lute stated before a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels held on Thursday.
Russia's armed forces present on the territory of Ukraine include military forces, intelligence, and operational staff. Some of them are operating in uniforms of Russian troops, while others do not, Lute said.
The U.S. ambassador to NATO noted that in August last year Russia carried out a direct military intervention – at that time whole Russian battalions were deployed in Ukraine.
The United States does not rule out further direct Russian military intervention of this magnitude, according to Lute.