London, Aug 30 : German Foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has warned that the crisis in eastern Ukraine needs to be controlled to prevent a direct military conflict between Russian and Ukraine.

Steinmeier said that the condition in Eastern Ukraine has reached a new height and that it needs to be controlled.

Russia had earlier denied all claims by NATO that they had sent forces to eastern part of Ukraine to support pro-Russian separatists.

According to the BBC, around 2,600 people have died in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed Ukraine for the conflict between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces.

The United States and the European Union have already imposed sanctions on Russia and blamed it for the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine. (ANI)