U.S. ambassador to NATO says Russian troops involved into Donbas conflict – media

The U.S. ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute on February 4 detailed the role of Russian troops that have been active in eastern Ukraine since the conflict began there last April, Radio Liberty reported.

Douglas Lute said in Brussels that Russian specialists had a "command-and-control role" in eastern Ukraine and were operating sophisticated military equipment that would be difficult for untrained pro-Russian separatists to use, RFE/RL reported.

Lute said there was a "spike" last August "in direct Russian intervention in the form of Russian military units," including "Russian battalions as coherent formations deployed into Ukraine."

However, he said another large-scale direct Russian military intervention was not thought to be "imminent."