Ukraine: Armored Personnel Carriers Entered Fom Russia
The Ukrainian military says armored personnel carriers have entered eastern Ukraine from Russia.
A Ukrainian military spokesman said Wednesday the vehicles were spotted in the restive southern Donetsk region, where pro-Russian separatists are fighting Ukrainian forces.
The accusation comes a day after Moscow acknowledged Russian troops had entered Ukrainian territory, where they were detained, but that they had done so accidentally.
Kyiv has repeatedly accused Moscow of arming and otherwise supporting the rebellion in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking east. Moscow continues to deny involvement.
Early Wednesday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on the principles of a peace plan to end the fighting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko as Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev looks on prior to their talks in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 26, 2014.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko as Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev looks on prior to their talks in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 26, 2014.
President Poroshenko spoke following two hours of face-to-face talks with Putin at a summit in Belarus also attended by regional leaders.
“I can say that the logic of this peace plan was finally supported by by all of the heads of state, without exclusion,” he said. “We insisted that, first of all, it is necessary to reach an agreement to ensure the freedom of Ukrainian citizens illegally detained by armed groups. We achieved an agreement to organize a tripartite contact group immediately and the process of the release of captured hostages will be demonstrated very soon.”
But it remains unclear what immediate impact the peace plan would have on ongoing fighting.
Following the talks, President Putin said Moscow will “do everything” to support the plan. But he also said it would be up to the Kyiv government to negotiate cease-fire terms with rebels.
‘We in Russia cannot talk about any conditions for the cease-fire, about any agreements between Kyiv, Donetsk, Luhansk – this is not our business. This is Ukraine’s business,” he said. “We can only help to create an atmosphere of trust for this important and necessary process.”
Separately, Poroshenko said a roadmap for cease-fire talks will be prepared as soon as possible.
(From L) Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko and Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko meet in the Belarussian capital Minsk, Aug. 26, 2014.
(From L) Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko and Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko meet in the Belarussian capital Minsk, Aug. 26, 2014.
The multiparty talks in Minsk included European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and the leaders of Kazakhstan and Belarus.
Pro-Russian separatists seeking autonomy in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking east launched a rebellion against Kyiv’s rule in April. Authorities say more than 2,000 people have been killed in the fighting.
The summit came on the same day Ukraine said it captured 10 Russian soldiers who had crossed into Ukrainian territory.
In his comments to reporters, Mr. Putin acknowledged that such a crossing may have occurred. But he said his initial information showed the troops were patrolling the border and may have crossed over after getting lost.