Ukraine militias say Russia troops among forces
A pro-Russia militia leader has said serving Russian soldiers, on
leave from their posts, are fighting Ukrainian troops alongside the country's
separatists in eastern Ukraine ,
the website of a Russian state television channel has reported.
"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
Thursday on Vesti.ru, reports Al-Jazeera news.
Meanwhile, a pro-government militia fighter said on Thursday
that separatists backed by Russian soldiers had entered the town of
A military source said the separatist forces had also taken
Savur-Mohyla, a hill east of Donetsk ,
which gives strategic command over large areas of the territory.
The sudden reverses for the Ukrainian military appeared to
confirm the arrival of Russian forces to support the separatists, who have in
recent weeks been under pressure from government forces in their strongholds of
Donetsk and
Luhansk, the east's two main cities.
"There is military equipment in Novoazovsk which came
across the border two days ago from Russia ," the fighter, from the
so-called Azov battalion which supports the Ukrainian army, told the Reuters
news agency.
"The equipment is carrying the flags of the DNR (Donetsk People's
Republic) rebels but they are regular Russian forces," the fighter, who
did not wish to be identified by name, said.
International response
Meanwhile, Washington on
Thursday accused Moscow of being "directly
involved" in fighting in Ukraine .
Geoffrey Pyatt, the US
ambassador to Kiev , wrote on Twitter that "Russia has also sent its newest air defence
systems including the SA-22 into eastern Ukraine and is now directly
involved in the fighting".
Francois Hollande, the French president, warned on Thursday
it would be "intolerable and unacceptable" if Russian troops were on
the ground in Ukraine .
The European security body the OSCE will hold a special
meeting on Thursday to discuss developments in Ukraine following the reports that
Russian troops were on the ground.
Comments
Post a Comment