Russia is likely to launch a new offensive in eastern Ukraine in the coming months, said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday, adding that NATO states are helping prepare the Ukrainian military. “We now see a significant movement of (Russian) troops away from Kyiv to regroup, re-arm and re-supply and shift their focus to the east,” Stoltenberg told a news conference in Brussels, adding that Russia will conduct a “very special” offensive in the Donbas region. Since 2014, separatists in the Donbas have fought against Ukrainian forces. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 22 said that Moscow would recognize the Donetsk and Lugansk separatist regions as sovereign states, just two days before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. Stoltenberg said it would be a new, crucial phase of Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion, which the Kremlin calls a “special military operation.” “Repositioning of the Russian troops will take some time, some weeks,” …