NATO will deploy more aeroplanes, ships and military staff to eastern member states in response to the unrest in Ukraine, as a military standoff intensified Wednesday between pro-Russian militants and Ukrainian troops in the east, dpa reported. The German news agency cited NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen as saying: "We will have more planes in the air, more ships on the water and more readiness on the land." The alliance's eastern-most member states have said they feel threatened by Russia, which has annexed the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea. Western nations have accused Moscow of applying military pressure on Ukraine and instigating protests in the country. "Russia is exporting not just oil and gas, but also terror to Ukraine," Ukraine's acting prime minister, Arseniy Yatsekyuk, said, calling on Moscow to withdraw its "spy and sabotage groups." Rasmussen said NATO still hoped for a political solution, pointing to talks Thursday between Russia, Ukraine, the United States and the European Union in Geneva. A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed hope that the discussions will offer "a first step to restore an orderly situation in Ukraine." -- SPA 00:04 LOCAL TIME 21:04 GMT تغريد
