Footage emerges claiming to show Russian tanks in Ukraine after NATO say Putin has sent more than 1,000 troops over the border to fight separatists
Petro Poroshenko has called for urgent meeting of UN
Security Council amid increasing reports of Russian troops fighting with
rebels in Ukraine. The US ambassador to Kiev said Russian troops and
state-of-the-art air defence systems were being used against Ukrainian
forces. As more shelling hit Donetsk (pictured) Ukraine's security and
defence council today said the border town of Novoazovsk and other parts
of Ukraine's south-east had fallen under the control of Russian forces
who together with rebels were staging a counter-offensive.
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Footage emerges claiming to show Russian tanks in Ukraine after NATO say Putin has sent more than 1,000 troops over the border to fight separatists
- Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko demands UN action over incursions
- Rebel leader admits Russian soldiers are fighting inside Ukraine
- US official claims Russians are using state-of-the-art air defence systems
- Tensions rise in south-east of country as forces take up key sites
- Ukraine calls on EU for assistance as battle for port of Mariupol looms
- 'An invasion is an invasion is an invasion!' says UN ambassador
The
UN Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting today as
overwhelming evidence suggested Russia had sent troops to fight
alongside separatists in Ukraine.
Alarm
has risen as a top NATO official said at least 1,000 Russian troops had
entered Ukraine and had been in direct 'contact' with Ukrainian
soldiers.
Ukraine's
president Petro Poroshenko today accused Russia of sending troops into
the country as he abruptly cancelled a trip to Turkey to meet his top
security officials.
The UN Security Council is to hold an
emergency meeting today as overwhelming evidence suggested Russia had
sent troops to fight alongside separatists in Ukraine. Pictured is a
pro-Russian rebel in a market damaged by shelling in Donetsk
Carnage: A Pro-Russian rebel passes by a car which was hit by shrapnel from a shell in Donetsk
Fear factor: Women rush across the street after shelling in the town of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine
Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko
today accused Russia of sending troops into the country as he abruptly
cancelled a trip to Turkey to meet his top security officials
The
Kiev leader, who changed his plans shortly before leaving Kiev's
Boryskil airport, had demanded an urgent meeting of the UN security
council as one senior aide called on him to impose martial law.
Diplomats have now said the meeting was due to take place today at the request of Lithuania.
Echoing
comments by Ukrainian Colonel Andriy Lysenko, a senior NATO official
said at least 1,000 Russian troops have poured into Ukraine with
sophisticated equipment, leaving no doubt that the Russian military had
invaded southeastern Ukraine.
'The
hand from behind is becoming more and more overt now,' Brig. Gen. Nico
Tak said at NATO's military headquarters, adding that Russia's ultimate
aim was to stave off defeat for the separatists and turn eastern Ukraine
into a 'frozen conflict' that would destabilize the country
indefinitely.
Politicians
have been careful to refer to the conflict as an 'incursion' by Russia,
rather than an invasion - prompting frustrated officials to vent their
anger online at what they see as pointless diplomacy.
'An invasion is an invasion is an invasion,' tweeted the Lithuanian ambassador to the U.N., Raimonda Murmokaite.
And
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen
Avakov, said on Facebook: 'The invasion of Putin's regular Russian army
of Ukraine is now an established fact!'
And
UK Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told reporters that 'Russia will be
asked to explain why Russia has its troops inside Ukraine. It's very
clear that Russian regular troops are now in Ukraine.'
A handout photo provided by
DigitalGlobe via NATO allegedly shows six Russian 153mm 2S19
self-propelled guns located in Russia near Kuybyshevo, four miles south
of the Ukraine border
A satellite image provided to Reuters
by Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe today, and taken by
DigitalGlobe last week, shows what is reported by SHAPE to be Russian
Self-Propelled Artillery in Ukraine
It
came as troops jostled for strategically important positions in the
south-east of the country, amid fears that violent clashes could erupt
at any moment.
'The
Russian Federation's troops have entered Ukraine,' said Poroshenko less
than two days after shaking hands with Vladimir Putin on a peace
roadmap.
'The world must give an assessment of the sharp aggravation of the situation in Ukraine,' he said.
'I
have taken the decision to cancel the visit to Turkey due to the sharp
deterioration of the situation in the Donetsk region, particularly in
Amvrosiyivka and Starobesheve, as Russian troops have been sent into
Ukraine.'
Poroshenko urgently summoned a meeting of his National Security and Defence Council.
'The
place for the president today is in Kiev,' said Poroshenko, who was due
to attend the inauguration of Turkey's president elect Recep Tayyip
Erdogan.
Senior
Interior Ministry adviser Anton Heraschenko warned: 'The incursion of
Putin's Russian Federation regular army into Ukraine is an accomplished
fact.'
He
claimed there was a need for martial law in Ukraine and urged EU
countries to halt buying Russian oil, gas, timber and other natural
resources, and also to discontinue granting of any credits, and freeze
Russian state companies' assets in the EU.
A
senior UK Government source told MailOnline: 'We are extremely
concerned about the situation there [in Ukraine]. There seems to be
mounting evidence that Russia is carrying out large scale incursion into
South and East Ukraine.'
A woman cleans the debris of broken windows in her apartment in the Kievski neighbourhood in northern Donetsk on Thursday
Workers try to repair the gate of a bakery damaged during shelling in the Kievski neighbourhood in northern Donetsk on Thursday
Ukraine's
security and defence council today said the border town of Novoazovsk
and other parts of Ukraine's south-east had fallen under the control of
Russian forces who together with rebels were staging a
counter-offensive.
It
said Ukrainian government forces had withdrawn from Novoazovsk 'to save
their lives' and were now reinforcing troops in the port city of
Mariupol.
It
added that Russian forces and separatists were combining to launch a
counter-offensive on Ilovaysk and Shakhtarsk, east of the city of
Donetsk.
A Ukraine security spokesman has also said two columns of tanks from Russia have entered a strategic town.
Ukrainian
security council spokesman Col. Andriy Lysenko says Ukrainian forces
were fired upon with Grad missile systems from Russian territory at
about 11am.
Lysenko says about an hour and a half later, two columns, including tanks and other fighting vehicles began an attack.
Residents stand near a damaged building with broken windows in the Kievski neighbourhood in northern Donetsk
A blown up railway-bridge blocking the road between Charkov and Donetsk, in Ukraine
Smoke covers the centre of rebel-held Donetsk after a hospital and school were damaged in recent shelling
Bystanders watch a fire consuming a school in downtown Donetsk on Thursday after being hit by shelling
They later entered Ukraine from Veselo-Voznesenka and Maximovo of the Rostov region in Russia.
Ukrainian border guards retreated because they didn't have heavy equipment.
A
top NATO official said at least 1,000 Russian troops had entered
Ukraine with sophisticated equipment and have been in direct 'contact'
with Ukrainian soldiers, resulting in casualties.
He called that a conservative estimate and said another 20,000 Russian troops were right over the Russian border.
Meanwhile,
Russian-backed separatists have taken the strategic high point of
Savur-Mohyla in eastern Ukraine, which looks out over wide areas of the
region, a Ukrainian military source said today.
Asked by Reuters if the rebels had captured Savur-Mohyla, east of Donetsk, the source replied: 'Yes. We have such information.'
Rebel
advances this week have opened a new front in the conflict just as
Ukraine's army appeared to have gained the upper hand, virtually
encircling the separatists in their main strongholds of Donetsk and
Luhansk.
Ukraine has now called for urgent and 'large-scale' military assistance from EU countries.
EU
leaders must decide on 'further resolute significant sanctions and
large-scale military and technical assistance to Ukraine in order to
stop the aggressor', said ambassador to Brussels Kostiantyn Yelisieiev.
The EU said today it was 'extremely concerned' at reports of Russian troops on the ground in Ukraine.
Ukraine
premier Arseniy Yatsenyuk has demanded the West block all Russia's
financial assets and banking operations until it withdraws the troops it
allegedly moved into his country.
'The sanctions introduced have not brought any results,' he warned.
A relative (centre) of a Ukrainian
soldier is helped as she is about to faint during a protest rally in
front of the Ukrainian defense ministry building in Kiev on Thursday
Protesters are demanding help for the
volunteer battalions of Donbass, Mirotvorets, Kherson and Dnipro-1
surrounded by pro-Russian militants for the fifth day in the small city
of Izvaryne
A protester holds a placard declaring
'Enough, surrender the Ukraine!' during the rally in front of the
Ukrainian Defence Ministry in Kiev
'In
this situation, one of the possible elements to deter Russian
aggression must be considering imposing sanctions on freezing all
Russian assets and suspending all Russian bank transactions in European
Union member states, the United States and G7 countries.'
Prominent Ukrainian female politician Yulia Tymoshenko demanded the imposition of martial law.
The
ex-premier - jailed under the regime of former president Viktor
Yanukovych - declared: 'The Russian army invaded Ukrainian territory at
night.
'We
cannot bury our heads in the sand any longer and describe everything
going on in eastern Ukraine as terror actions by unknown separatists.'
She called for an appeal for effective military assistance from the West.
US Ambassador to
Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt today warned that an increasing number of Russian
troops and ultra-modern equipment are directly involved in fighting
inside Ukraine
Russia's
defence ministry declined to comment on reports of Russian tanks in
Novoazovsk. A Russian diplomatic source said: 'The Russian authorities
clearly said many times there are no regular Russian troops there.
Russia is not taking part in this armed conflict.'
But
a member of President Vladimir Putin's advisory council on human
rights, Ella Polyakova, told Reuters she believed Russia was carrying
out an invasion of Ukraine.
'When
masses of people, under commanders' orders, on tanks, APCs and with the
use of heavy weapons, (are) on the territory of another country, cross
the border, I consider this an invasion,' Polyakova told Reuters.
The
US meanwhile has also warned today that an increasing number of Russian
troops and ultra-modern equipment are directly involved in fighting
inside Ukraine.
The
warning came as a separatist leader revealed Russian soldiers, on leave
from their posts, were fighting against Ukrainian troops alongside the
rebels.
The
US also warned that an increasing number of Russian troops and
ultra-modern equipment were directly involved in fighting inside
Ukraine.
Moscow's
earlier intervention with tanks, armoured vehicles and multiple rocket
launchers was 'insufficient to defeat Ukraine's armed forces', said US
Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt.
'So now an increasing number of Russian troops are intervening directly in fighting on Ukrainian territory.
Pro-Russian separatist leader
Alexander Zakharchenko has reportedly said serving Russian soldiers, on
leave from their posts, were fighting Ukrainian troops alongside the
rebels
'Russia
has also sent its newest air defence systems including the SA-22 into
eastern Ukraine and is now directly involved in the fighting.'
The claims follow German Chancellor Angela Merkel challenging Vladimir Putin on the presence of Russian forces inside Ukraine.
The
Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council has also accused the
Russian army of transferring military equipment and personnel to border
regions, and from there across the frontier.
Russian
state television meanwhile has reported that East Ukrainian pro-Russian
separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko has said serving Russian
soldiers, on leave from their posts, were fighting Ukrainian troops
alongside the rebels.
A column of Ukrainian tanks, heavy
weapons and trucks were pictured massing near the town of Mariupol on
Wednesday after reports Russian armoured vehicles crossed the border
Ukrainian soldiers towing a heavy
artillery gun rest outside Mariupol, a short distance from the town of
Novoazovsk that Pro-Moscow separatists began shelling on Wednesday
'Among
us are fighting serving soldiers, who would rather take their vacation
not on a beach but with us, among brothers, who are fighting for their
freedom,' said Zakharchenko in an interview posted on Vesti.ru, the
Internet site of a Russian state television station.
French
President Francois Hollande today said that it would be 'intolerable
and unacceptable' if it was proved true that Russian troops had entered
Ukrainian territory.
'Europe
will maintain (sanctions), even increase them if the escalation
increases. I don't want it because it is neither in Russia's nor our
interest,' Hollande told an annual conference of French diplomats in
Paris.
'Russia cannot hope to be a 21st century power yet not respect the rules.'
UKRAINE BLOCKS EXTRADITION OF BRITISH-EDUCATED MAN ACCUSED OF PLOTTING TO KILL VLADIMIR PUTIN
By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
Adam Osmayev, 33, formerly a student
of Buckingham University, was detained two years ago in Odessa after an
alleged botched training exercise saw a suspect killed by a homemade
bomb
Ukraine
has blocked the extradition to Russia of a British-educated man accused
of plotting to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin, it was
revealed today .
Adam
Osmayev, 33, formerly a student of Buckingham University, was detained
two years ago in Odessa after an alleged botched training exercise saw a
suspect killed by a homemade bomb.
An
ethnic Chechen from a wealthy family, he claimed he was framed by the
secret services in Russia and under the regime of ex-president Viktor
Yanukovych in Ukraine.
The
FSB - Russian secret services - believe he is a radical Islamist and
claimed he 'lived in London for a long time' but it is understood he did
not complete his university course in Britain.
The
alleged plot to assassinate Putin by blowing up his car in central
Moscow was revealed during the strongman's election campaign in 2012,
prompting claims that the case against him was exaggerated and the
arrests were politically motivated.
Osmayev's
lawyer Olha Chertok said the Ukrainian Prosecutor General had decided
against extraditing him to Russia, where he could face up to 25 years in
jail, pending further investigations into the case.
The decision comes amid a breakdown in relations between former allies Russia and Ukraine.
Osmayev's
alleged accomplice, Ilya Pyanzin, was extradited to Russia in August
2012. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in September 2013.
The
former Buckingham University student was in 2012 put under
investigation in Ukraine for 'establishment of a terrorist organization'
and 'preparations for a terrorist attack'.
A Ukrainian court had upheld his extradition but his lawyers filed an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
Osmayev
retracted an earlier 'confession' on the Putin plot, claiming he had
been physically and psychologically abused by the ex-KGB in Kiev.
Ukrainian
secret services agents during Yanukovych's era repeatedly struck him
and covered his head in a plastic bag, he claimed.
He
alleged they injected him with drugs and threatened him with further
torture unless he confessed to a plot to kill both Putin and Chechen
leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
His
confession was 'the result of physical and psychological pressure which
the law enforcement services put me under since the moment I was
detained,' he said.
He was beaten so badly, he could not stand for two months, he claimed.
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