BRUSSELS, June 19. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia is again concentrating its troops along the border with Ukraine, NATO’s Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen claimed here Thursday.

"I can confirm that we now see a new Russian military buildup - at least a few thousand more Russian troops deployed to the Ukrainian border, and we see troop maneuvers in the neighborhood of Ukraine," he said in London.

"I consider this a very regrettable step backwards and it seems that Russia keeps the option to intervene further," Rasmussen said. "So the international community would have to respond firmly if Russia were to intervene further.”

“That would imply deeper sanctions which would have a negative impact on Russia," he said.