Nato accuses Russia of violating Ukraine sovereignty

Nato has accused Russia of a "blatant violation" of Ukraine's sovereignty and engaging in direct military operations to support pro-Russian rebels.

Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that "despite hollow denials", it was now clear that Russia had illegally crossed Ukraine's border.

He said Nato would respect any Ukrainian decision on security, after its PM said he was putting the country on course for Nato membership.

Russia denies sending troops and arms.

Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the Ukrainian government for the crisis, comparing its siege of two cities held by separatists, Donetsk and Luhansk, to the siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany in World War Two.

"It is necessary to make the Ukrainian authorities start substantial talks [with the rebels]," he said.





Nearly 2,600 people have been killed since April, the UN says, when Russia's annexation of Crimea prompted the rebels to take control of large parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Heavy fighting is continuing near Ukraine's strategic port of Mariupol, on the Azov Sea. Rebel forces are trying to capture the city but Ukrainian government troops are digging in.

The rebel advance there has raised fears that the Kremlin might seek to create a land corridor between Russia and Crimea.

On Thursday the separatists seized the nearby town of Novoazovsk.

Separatists are also reported to have surrounded government soldiers in several places further north, near Donetsk city.

Ukrainian forces near the town of Ilovaysk say they are cut off and have been urgently asking for supplies and reinforcements.

Earlier, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said the government was reopening the question of Nato membership.

He said it was sending a bill to parliament calling for Ukraine's non-aligned status to be cancelled, in effect paving the way for Ukraine to join Nato.

'Dangerous pattern'

Speaking at a news conference after an emergency meeting of Nato ambassadors, Mr Rasmussen said that it was clear Russia was engaged in direct military operations in Ukraine.

"This is not an isolated action, but part of a dangerous pattern over many months to destabilise Ukraine as a sovereign nation," he said.

"This is a blatant violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It defies all diplomatic efforts for a peaceful solution."

On Thursday, Nato had released satellite images it said showed columns of Russian armed forces inside Ukrainian territory, adding that more than 1,000 Russian troops were operating inside Ukraine.

Mr Rasmussen called on Russia to cease military action, stop supporting the rebels and "take immediate and verifiable steps towards de-escalation of this grave crisis".

Mr Rasmussen indicated Nato was open to considering Ukraine's application to join if it met the conditions.

In 2008, Ukraine applied for Nato membership under then-President Viktor Yushchenko.

But the plans were shelved two years later when Viktor Yanukovych came to power and ended Ukraine's Nato ambitions in favour of mending relations with Russia.

Mr Rasmussen said on Friday: "I am not going to interfere with political discussions in Ukraine, but let me remind you of Nato's decision taken at the Bucharest Summit in 2008 according to which Ukraine will become a member of Nato, provided of course that Ukraine so wishes and provided that Ukraine fulfils the necessary criteria."


Analysis: Paul Adams, BBC News

Ukraine's prospects for Nato membership seem dim.

The 2008 pledge, made at the insistence of then-US President George W Bush, was criticised at the time. Some saw it as rash and needlessly provocative towards Moscow, which has long argued that the West broke a promise not to extend the alliance into the former Soviet bloc after the end of the Cold War.

Georgia's brief war with Russia, in the summer of 2008, convinced sceptics that for Nato to embrace countries with unresolved territorial disputes with Russia was not worth the risk.

And while the Ukrainian government wants it, what evidence is there that enough Ukrainians share the same enthusiasm? Opinion polls in 2008 suggested only about 30% of the population favoured membership. In the midst of Ukraine's worsening civil war, opinion is unlikely to be less divided.

A Roger Federer-Novak Djokovic rematch at U.S. Open?

Some tennis players say they look deep into draws. Others claim they simply look at their next opponent.
But one thing everyone agrees on is that draws can make all the difference.
Take Wimbledon, for example.
When organizers went against the world rankings and named Novak Djokovic as the top seed instead of Rafael Nadal, who was pushed down to No. 2, it helped the former.
Nadal's early path was filled with hard-hitting, dangerous players and the Spaniard suffered yet another upset at the All England Club, losing to Australia's Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round.
Djokovic, meanwhile, had a less bumpy road to the second week and he stepped up his game in the final to top Roger Federer. Federer, of course, wasn't such an easy draw for Djokovic, especially on grass.
The two took part in a five-set classic and without an injured Nadal at the U.S. Open, they'll be expected to meet in the final again in New York in a little over two weeks, despite a recent wobble from Djokovic.
As the top two seeds, they were placed on opposite sides of the draw Thursday, with Djokovic appearing to land in the more difficult half.
He could face 2012 champion Andy Murray or resurgent Rogers Cup winner Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals and either Stan Wawrinka or the big-serving Milos Raonic in the last four.
Wawrinka upset Djokovic on the hard courts of the Australian Open in January and stretched Djokovic to five sets at the U.S. Open last year.
Djokovic, like Murray, isn't in great form, having slumped at warm-up tournaments.
Federer, going for an 18th major, might meet huge servers in the second and third rounds, Sam Groth and Ivo Karlovic, and the highest seed in his quarter is the man who has been compared to the Swiss, Grigor Dimitrov.
In his half lie fourth seed David Ferrer -- Federer is 16-0 against the highest-ranked Spaniard at the tournament in Nadal's absence -- and Tomas Berdych. Although Berdych has ousted Federer in two of their last three encounters, one at the U.S. Open in 2012, he enters the event in poor form and confronts feisty Aussie Lleyton Hewitt in the first round.
In the women's draw, Ana Ivanovic surfaced in the same quarter as Serena Williams, who is trying to reach a grand slam quarterfinal for the first time this season.
Williams crashed out early in Melbourne, Paris and London, but she beat Ivanovic to win the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati last weekend.
Also in her half are Wimbledon finalists Petra Kvitova and Eugenie Bouchard. Both have struggled since leaving the grass, yet in Bouchard's case that might be due to injury.
Whoever emerges from the fourth quarter will be the favorite to reach the final, and the leading contenders are Simona Halep, Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams.
Sharapova trumped Halep in the French Open final and won another bruising contest in Cincinnati last week.
Venus Williams is an elder stateswoman at 34 but her first-round foe, Japan's Kimiko Date-Krumm, is even older at nearly 44. The last time they met at a major, Venus Williams prevailed 8-6 in the third set at Wimbledon in 2011.