Kosovo: Russia is fueling Serb unrest

STORY: Kosovo's government is accusing its neighbor Serbia of trying to destabilize the country as it grapples with weeks of protests and violence...

... and says Serbia is doing so under the influence of Russia.

Kosovo has a small ethnic Serb minority. Some members have been blockading roads there since December 10 and exchanged gunfire with police.

Late on Monday night Serbia, which is allied to Russia, also announced that it was putting its army on its highest level of alert -- saying that it fears Kosovo authorities are preparing to attack the ethnic Serbs.

Serbia's defense minister is seen here meeting troops stationed near their border. His government denies Kosovo's claims and says it wants to protect the minority.

Kosovo won its independence from Serbia in 2008, after the war in the late 1990s. NATO now has over 3,700 peacekeepers in Kosovo and has said it will intervene if stability in the country is jeopardized.