NATO ministers condemn Russia, announce new support for Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gestures while speaking during a media conference prior to a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014. NATO’s chief says alliance foreign ministers are poised to make a number of key decisions, including the shift to a non-combat role for NATO-led forces in Afghanistan beginning Jan. 1. Alliance foreign ministers, including Secretary of State John Kerry, are scheduled to assemble at NATO headquarters later in the day. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) (The Associated Press)

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, center, arrives for a round table meeting of the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014. NATO’s chief says alliance foreign ministers are poised to make a number of key decisions, including the shift to a non-combat role for NATO-led forces in Afghanistan beginning Jan. 1. Alliance foreign ministers, including Secretary of State John Kerry, are scheduled to assemble at NATO headquarters later in the day. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) (The Associated Press)

Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic, left, speaks with Czech Republic's Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek, right, during a round table meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014. NATO’s chief says alliance foreign ministers are poised to make a number of key decisions, including the shift to a non-combat role for NATO-led forces in Afghanistan beginning Jan. 1. Alliance foreign ministers, including Secretary of State John Kerry, are scheduled to assemble at NATO headquarters later in the day. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) (The Associated Press)

NATO foreign ministers are condemning what they call Russia's "continued and deliberate destabilization" in Ukraine, and announcing new assistance for Ukraine's military.

The ministers, meeting in Brussels, spoke Tuesday via video hookup with their Ukrainian counterpart, Pavlo Klimkin. They criticized Russia's reported military buildup in Crimea and Kremlin plans for a military buildup in the Black Sea.

In a statement, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and the other ministers said Russia's actions "undermine the security of Ukraine and have serious implications for the stability and security of the entire Euro-Atlantic area."

To help finance the reform and modernization of Ukraine's military, NATO has announced the creation of so-called trust funds. The ministers said Tuesday trust funds are now operational for logistics, cyberdefense, rehabilitation of wounded soldiers and other uses.