NATO: 'Russian Military Buildup On Border With Ukraine'

(Vatican Radio) The NATO military alliance has warned of a sizable Russian military buildup on the border with Ukraine amid reports of fresh fighting inside the country, including around the key port city of Mariupol. The allegations came while Russia signed a trade and energy agreement with Argentina, as part of its efforts to seek new allies to overcome Western sanctions over its role in Ukraine.

Listen to the report by Stephan Bos: 

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia had in his words "substantially" stepped up supplies to pro-Russian separatists as well as providing them with advanced training and equipment like drones, despite a cease-fire agreement. 

Separately, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Russia to remove its forces from eastern Ukraine and to press Ukrainian separatists into observing a cease-fire. Officials say Kerry made the appeal during a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier this week. 

Moscow denies it supports pro-Russian separatists with weapons and troops. Instead, it says, the U.S. is to blame for rising tensions as American military instructors are training Ukrainian national guardsmen. 

FIGHTING TECHNIQUES

Russia claims the training in urban fighting techniques is ongoing in the same eastern regions where Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists have been fighting. 

Yet, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf has denied the allegations saying some 300 U.S. forces are training with Ukrainian troops in the west of Ukraine. She said earlier that the operation is aimed at boosting Ukraine's defense. 

"It is really is part of our ongoing effort to help Ukraine sustain its defense and internal defense operations," she said recently. 

"We did this under [Ukraine's pro-Russian President Viktor] Yanukovych and we did it for some 20 years at this point," Harf added. "Obviously there is the reality of the situation in eastern Ukraine. So this is part of our ongoing efforts, but of course we are all aware of the situation there," Harf explained. 

NEW CLASHES

The political wrangling has done little to ease tensions on the ground. Reporters have witnessed pro-Russian rebels shelling Ukrainian army positions east of Mariupol, shortly after international monitors left the region. 

Capturing the city would enable the separatists to create a land bridge to Crimea, which Russia captured last year. 

With fighting ongoing and Western sanctions unlikely to end soon, Russia is now looking overseas to seek new allies. It has signed a series of agreements on economic and energy cooperation. It includes Russian investments in a hydroelectric plant and a nuclear power plant in Argentina. 

Following their talks in Moscow, the presidents of Argentina and Russia, Cristina Fernandez and Vladimir Putin, called their co-operation a "comprehensive strategic partnership."

Observers say Moscow wants to show the West which is punishing Russia over its role in Ukraine that it will offset the effects of sanctions imposed by Europe and America.