Russia’s deployment of troops to the Donbass region “is a further invasion” of Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says. “What we see now is that a country which is already invaded is suffering further invasion,” Stoltenberg said, referencing Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. The defence alliance chief also said he welcomed Germany’s decision to withdraw the certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline after Russia recognized the breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent.