NATO: Russia Won't Invade Ukraine

NATO's top military commander, General Philip Breedlove, said he does not think Russia will invade Ukraine, adding that the Kremlin has other ways to achieve its goals. Breedlove told an audience in Ottawa, Canada on Monday that he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin will keep doing what he is doing - creating unrest, discrediting the Ukrainian government and stirring up a separatist movement. He predicted that Moscow will keep a hold on eastern Ukraine without sending regular troops across the border. The NATO commander said he is that certain Russian special forces are in Ukraine. But he said that it is not known if they were the ones who shot down three Ukrainian helicopters with missiles last week. Earlier Monday, Ukrainian government forces fought gun battles with pro-Russian militants in the separatist-controlled eastern Ukrainian city of Slovyansk, a day after pro-Russian protesters stormed the police station in the southern city of Odessa. Six people have been killed and around 100 wounded, said a Ukraine Security Service spokeswoman. Russia's Interfax news agency quoted a separatist source in Slovyansk as saying that 20 or more pro-Russian militants had been killed in the fighting. Also, a Ukrainian military helicopter was shot down near Slovyansk on Monday, but the pilots survived, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said.

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