Intensified military exercises by Russia and NATO are fueling tensions in Europe that have already been heightened by the conflict in Ukraine, a research group said. 
 
 While Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization call the drills defensive, they may treat each other’s actions “as provocative and deliberate aggravation,” worsening mistrust, according to a report Wednesday by the London-based European Leadership Network. The two sides are readying in case of confrontation, it said. 
 
 The former Cold War foes have stepped up military activity, especially near the Baltic region, after Russia’s annexation of Crimea last year. The war in Ukraine has prompted NATO to create command units across eastern Europe, while Russia has recalibrated its military goals toward the transatlantic alliance, which it accuses of approaching its borders. 
 
 “We don’t suggest that the leadership of either side has made a decision to go to war or that a military conflict between the two is inevitable,” the ELN said. Even so, “the changed profile of exercises is a fact and it does play a role in sustaining the current climate of tensions in Europe.” 
 
 NATO and Russia should communicate better on plans to hold military drills to lessen the risk of incidents, according to the ELN. It recommended limiting exercises in border areas. 
 
 Neither Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov nor his deputy Andrei Bobrun replied to phone calls made by Bloomberg. 
 
 ‘Well Ahead’ 
 
 The ELN report “misleadingly puts NATO and Russian exercises on par,” Carmen Romero, the military alliance’s deputy spokeswoman, said by e-mail. 
 
 The authorities in Moscow have announced more than 4,000 drills this year, more than 10-fold NATO’s plans, and Russian exercises have also involved nuclear and nuclear-capable forces, according to Romero. NATO is “well ahead” of the ELN’s recommendations, she said. 
 
 “The scale and scope of Russia’s exercises are far beyond anything the alliance is doing and they are increasing tensions across the region,” Romero said. “Russia is deliberately avoiding military transparency and predictability.” 
 
 President Vladimir Putin last month approved Russia’s new naval doctrine that puts greater focus on the Atlantic and the Arctic to counter NATO’s activity near its borders. 
 
 Wargames Might Help Russia Sell Some Tanks 
 
 Read this next: 
 
 The U.S.-led alliance has tried to calm nerves of late. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said last month that he doesn’t see an immediate threat to the alliance’s members. NATO plans to reduce by half the number of aircraft deployed for air patrols in the Baltic region, whose skies have seen a surge in Russian activity. ||||| Brussels, Belgium (CNN) -- NATO will suspend "all practical civilian and military cooperation" with Russia because of its annexation of Crimea, saying it has seen no sign that Moscow was withdrawing troops from the Ukrainian border. 
 
 Foreign ministers from the 28 members of the Western military alliance met in Brussels on Tuesday for the first time since Russia grabbed the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine last month, triggering the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War. 
 
 They were discussing ways to boost NATO's military presence in formerly communist central and Eastern Europe to reassure allies worried by Russia's moves. 
 
 After the session, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia has challenged truths that only a few weeks ago seemed self-evident: that European borders in the 21st century would not be redrawn by force. 
 
 "It is important for everybody in the world to understand that the NATO alliance takes seriously this attempt to change borders by use of force," he said. "So that is the wake-up call." 
 
 Russia's aggression "is the gravest threat to European security in a generation and it challenges our vision of a Europe whole, free and at peace," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters. 
 
 In a joint statement announcing the suspension of cooperation, the ministers said political dialogue in the NATO-Russia Council could continue, "as necessary, at the ambassadorial level and above, to allow us to exchange views, first and foremost on this crisis." 
 
 They said they would review NATO's relations with Russia at their next meeting in June. NATO and Russia have cooperated on an anti-narcotics operation in Afghanistan, counterpiracy and various counterterrorism measures. Rasmussen said cooperation on the anti-narcotics operations would continue. 
 
 A NATO official told CNN the ministers had decided the alliance would develop, as a matter of urgency, "a series of additional measures to reinforce NATO's collective defenses." 
 
 These would include possible deployments and reinforcements of alliance military assets in Eastern European member states, a possible review of training and exercise plans in the near term, a possible increase of the readiness level of the NATO Response Force, and a possible review and update of NATO defense and military plans, the official said. 
 
 Russian troops on border 
 
 Earlier, Rasmussen said he saw no sign that Russia is pulling its forces back from the border with Ukraine. 
 
 "Unfortunately, I cannot confirm that Russia is withdrawing its troops," Rasmussen said at the opening of the two-day meeting. "This is not what we're seeing. And this massive military buildup can in no way contribute to a de-escalation of the situation." 
 
 Concerns are high that Russia, which U.S. officials last week said had about 40,000 troops near the frontier, might seek to enter eastern Ukraine, after it annexed Ukraine's Crimea region last month. 
 
 Russian President Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday that he'd ordered a withdrawal of some Russian troops from his country's border area with Ukraine, Merkel's office said. The news prompted U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki to say Monday that if the reports were accurate, "it would be a welcome preliminary step." 
 
 On Tuesday, Merkel told reporters: "I can only take what the Russian President has told me. I will, of course, try to find out whether this is perceptible or not perceptible." 
 
 According to Russian state media Monday, one Russian infantry battalion was being moved from the border area to its base deeper in Russia. A battalion would typically number several hundred troops. 
 
 But Rasmussen appeared to quash hopes that the situation might be easing with his remarks Tuesday. His assessment was echoed in Brussels by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, who said: "We have had some statements or rumors from Russia about pulling back forces from the eastern border of Ukraine. 
 
 "But we haven't seen the evidence of that yet. Of course, we continue to call for that and continue to use every possible diplomatic lead to seek a de-escalation of this crisis." 
 
 Kerry, among those in Brussels for the NATO meeting, also called for a Russian withdrawal in lengthy weekend talks in Paris with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. 
 
 What do we know about Russia's troop buildup on Ukraine's border? 
 
 Also Tuesday, the U.S. House gave final congressional approval to legislation that would impose sanctions on Russia for its takeover of Crimea and provide $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine. The bill now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature. 
 
 In a statement, the White House said the President welcomed the move. 
 
 "This legislation will allow us to provide crucial support to Ukraine through loan guarantees that will facilitate access to needed financing to Ukraine as it takes essential steps to restore economic stability and return to growth and prosperity," it read. 
 
 NATO and Ukraine cooperation 
 
 The foreign ministers also met with Ukrainian acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia in the latest demonstration of Western support. Moscow does not recognize Ukraine's new government, saying President Viktor Yanukovych was removed in an unconstitutional coup. 
 
 In a joint statement, they called on Moscow "to reverse the illegal and illegitimate 'annexation' of Crimea; to refrain from any further interference and aggressive actions in Ukraine ... and to abide by international law." 
 
 At the same time, NATO and Ukraine announced they would intensify cooperation and promote defense reforms in Ukraine through training and other programs. 
 
 Rasmussen told reporters the ministers agreed to help Ukraine make its military "more professional and more effective" and provide advice on how it can defend its infrastructure. "A possibility is also deployment of mobile training teams as and when appropriate," he said. 
 
 Pressed on how NATO was prepared to help Ukraine improve its military, Rasmussen cited enhanced military exercises as an example. 
 
 As the talks got under way, Russia's Foreign Ministry had warned Ukraine against seeking integration into the defense alliance. 
 
 Discussion of the issue while Yanukovych was in power "led to freezing of Russian-Ukrainian political communications, to headaches in the relationship between NATO and Russia and, what is the most dangerous, to the deepening of the split of Ukrainian society, the majority of which doesn't support the idea of Ukraine entering NATO," a Foreign Ministry statement said. 
 
 It added that Kiev must understand that the prospects for future cooperation between Ukraine and Russia, including on economic matters, "will largely depend on the actions Ukraine takes in its foreign policy." 
 
 Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula last month amid the political upheaval that followed the ouster of the pro-Moscow Yanukovych. 
 
 Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday granted permission for foreign military units, including some from NATO countries, to conduct military exercises in Ukraine in 2014. 
 
 Such military exercises by foreign troops, including naval drills in the Black Sea, are an annual event but take on additional significance this year in light of Russia's military takeover of Crimea. 
 
 Gazprom hikes natural gas price 
 
 In a move that will heighten pressure on the interim government in Kiev, Russian energy giant Gazprom announced a sharp increase in the price it charges Ukraine for natural gas. 
 
 Starting Tuesday, Ukraine will be charged $385.50 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas, up from the previous rate of $268.50, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller as saying. 
 
 The move ends a discount that was agreed to before Yanukovych was ousted in February after months of street protests. 
 
 The gas price hike will only increase the pressure on Ukraine's interim government as it seeks to stave off economic collapse. 
 
 Ukraine, which is heavily reliant on Russia for energy, is also $1.7 billion in arrears in its payments for gas already supplied, Miller said, according to RIA Novosti. 
 
 The International Monetary Fund last week agreed to lend Ukraine up to $18 billion over the next two years in return for a package of reforms, including to its energy market. 
 
 Kiev has been running dangerously low on cash to pay for imports and service its debts since the ouster of Yanukovych, which killed off a $15 billion financial lifeline from Russia. 
 
 Is Crimea gone? Annexation no longer the focus of Ukraine crisis 
 
 Opinion: Russia's euphoria over Crimea won't last 
 
 CNN Money: Russia fallout pushes Europe to develop shale gas 
 
 Susannah Palk reported from Brussels, Laura Smith-Spark reported and wrote from London. CNN's Alla Eshchenko, Victoria Butenko, Boriana Milanova, James Frater, Talia Kayali, Jason Hanna and Marie-Louise Gumuchian contributed to this report. ||||| BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. allies in eastern Europe and Ukraine are worried that Russia’s planned war games in September could be a “Trojan horse” aimed at leaving behind military equipment brought into Belarus, the U.S. Army’s top general in Europe said on Thursday. 
 
 Russia has sought to reassure NATO that the military exercises will respect international limits on size, but NATO and U.S. official remain wary about their scale and scope. 
 
 U.S. Army Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, who heads U.S. Army forces in Europe, told Reuters in an interview that allied officials would keep a close eye on military equipment brought in to Belarus for the Zapad 2017 exercise, and whether it was removed later. 
 
 “People are worried, this is a Trojan horse. They say, ‘We’re just doing an exercise,’ and then all of a sudden they’ve moved all these people and capabilities somewhere,” he said. 
 
 Hodges said he had no indications that Russia had any such plans, but said greater openness by Moscow about the extent of its war games would help reassure countries in eastern Europe. 
 
 A senior Russian diplomat strongly rejected allegations that Moscow could leave military equipment in Belarus. 
 
 “This artificial buffoonery over the routine Zapad-2017 exercises is aimed at justifying the sharp intensification of the NATO bloc (activities) along the perimeter of Russian territory,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told the Interfax news agency on Friday. 
 
 NATO allies are nervous because previous large-scale Russian exercises employed special forces training, longer-range missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. 
 
 Such tactics were later used in Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine and in its intervention in Syria, NATO diplomats say. 
 
 Hodges said the United States and its allies had been very open about a number of military exercises taking place across eastern Europe this summer involving up to 40,000 troops, but it remained unclear if Moscow would adhere to a Cold War-era treaty known as the Vienna document, which requires observers for large-scale exercises involving more than 13,000 troops. 
 
 Some NATO allies believe the Russian exercise could number more than 100,000 troops and involve nuclear weapons training, the biggest such exercise since 2013. 
 
 Russia has said it would invite observers if the exercise exceeded 13,000 forces. 
 
 U.S Army Europe Commanding General Ben Hodges speaks during the inauguration ceremony of bilateral military training between U.S. and Polish troops in Zagan, Poland, January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel 
 
 Hodges said NATO would maintain normal rotations during the Russian war game, while carrying out previously scheduled exercises in Sweden, Poland and Ukraine. 
 
 The only additional action planned during that period was a six-week deployment of three companies of 120 paratroopers each to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for “low-level” exercises, Hodges said. 
 
 “We want to avoid anything that looks like a provocation. This is not going to be the ‘Sharks’ and the ‘Jets’ out on the streets,” Hodges said in a reference to the gang fights shown in the 1961 film “West Side Story” set in New York City.
– Like a game of Risk, Russia and NATO have not only been suspiciously eying each other in recent months, but also conducting military exercises in border areas that the Washington Post says are making Europe "a region of high military drama." Now a UK-based think tank is warning that these war games could lead to real conflict if they don't start communicating and scaling down their activities, the Guardian reports. The European Leadership Network says that although reps from both sides may insist these training exercises—including a flurry of activity in March for Russia and in June for NATO, per the Post—are against hypothetical opponents, it's clear there are definite foes in mind, and that alleviative measures need to take place ASAP to stave off a possible confrontation. "Russia is preparing for a conflict with NATO, and NATO is preparing for a possible confrontation with Russia," the report asserts, adding that even though this doesn't make a real conflict unavoidable, it helps perpetuate tension in the region—especially thick since the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The organization's recommendation: Tamp down the size and scale of said exercises, start hammering out a new treaty on limiting the types of weapons used along the borders, and publicly announce beforehand when exercises are being held (Russia is pointed out as a prime offender in this regard). But a NATO rep told Bloomberg that the ELN report "misleadingly puts NATO and Russian exercises on par" and that "the scale and scope of Russia's exercises are far beyond anything the alliance is doing. Russia is deliberately avoiding military transparency and predictability." (NATO's got its hands full with ISIS, too.)