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Russian Troops Crossing Into Ukraine, NATO Says Fears Rise as Russian Military Units Pour Into Ukraine
(about 5 hours later)
KIEV, Ukraine — Tanks and other military vehicles towing heavy weapons pouring over the border from Russia into eastern Ukraine. Nightly artillery battles in the region’s biggest city, Donetsk, and reports of fighting around another regional capital. KIEV, Ukraine — Tanks and other military vehicles pouring over the border from Russia into eastern Ukraine. Nightly artillery battles in the region’s biggest city, Donetsk, and reports of fighting around another regional capital. And now, sightings of the “green men,” professional soldiers in green uniforms without insignia, the same type of forces that carried out the invasion of Crimea last spring.
And now, sightings of the “green men,” professional soldiers in green uniforms without insignia, the same type of forces that carried out the invasion of Crimea in the spring.
A senior NATO official confirmed on Wednesday what Ukrainian military officials and monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have been saying for days now: Russian troops and military equipment are crossing the border into Ukraine, seemingly preparing for renewed military action, though what exactly remains unclear.A senior NATO official confirmed on Wednesday what Ukrainian military officials and monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have been saying for days now: Russian troops and military equipment are crossing the border into Ukraine, seemingly preparing for renewed military action, though what exactly remains unclear.
The assertion drew stern and dismissive denials from Moscow, which for months has denied any military intervention in eastern Ukraine, though it has acknowledged publicly that Russian “volunteers” have crossed into Ukraine to support the pro-Russia separatists. The statement drew stern and dismissive denials from Moscow, which for months has denied any military intervention in eastern Ukraine, though it has acknowledged publicly that Russian “volunteers” have crossed into Ukraine to support the pro-Russia separatists.
In light of the recent developments, Western officials finally seemed ready to acknowledge that a cease-fire agreement signed in September had fallen apart, and that the threat to peace in Europe had returned in a possibly more virulent form. In light of the military buildup, Western officials finally seemed ready to acknowledge that a cease-fire agreement signed in September had fallen apart, and that the threat to peace in Europe posed by the Ukraine crisis had returned in a possibly more virulent form.
The official, Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, NATO’s top military commander, said it was “concerned about convoys of trucks taking artillery and supplies into east Ukraine from Russia.” He said there were increased numbers of Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, training militants including in the use of sophisticated weaponry. At the United Nations headquarters in New York, the Security Council held an emergency meeting on Ukraine — its 26th — where a top official, Assistant Secretary-General Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen, told diplomats he was “deeply concerned by the possibility of a return to full-scale fighting.”
“Across the last two days we have seen the same thing that O.S.C.E. is reporting,” General Breedlove said at a news conference in Sofia, Bulgaria. “We have seen columns of Russian equipment, primarily Russian tanks, Russian artillery, Russian air defense systems and Russian combat troops, entering into Ukraine.” The official also expressed fear of what he called a “frozen and protracted conflict that would entrench the status quo in southeastern Ukraine for years or several decades to come.”
The full scope of the Russian incursion is not clear, he said, though the convoys seemed to be heading east toward Donetsk, an O.S.C.E. spokesman, Michael Bociurkiw, said Wednesday. “We we have reported since Saturday are three separate sightings of large military convoys — 126 vehicles in total — in areas controlled by armed rebel groups in Donetsk,” he added. The NATO official, Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, the group’s top military commander, said he was “concerned about convoys of trucks taking artillery and supplies into east Ukraine from Russia.” He said there were increased numbers of Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, training militants including in the use of sophisticated weaponry.
“Across the last two days we have seen the same thing that O.S.C.E. is reporting,” General Breedlove said at a news conference in Sofia, Bulgaria. “We have seen columns of Russian equipment, primarily Russian tanks, Russian artillery, Russian air defense systems and Russian combat troops entering into Ukraine.”
The full scope of the Russian incursion is not clear, General Breedlove said. The convoys seemed to be heading east toward Donetsk, an spokesman for the security organization, Michael Bociurkiw, said Wednesday. “We have reported since Saturday are three separate sightings of large military convoys — 126 vehicles in total — in areas controlled by armed rebel groups in Donetsk,” he added.
General Breedlove said NATO was unsure about their intent. “It is our first guess that these forces will go in to make this a more contiguous, more whole and capable pocket of land in order to then hold onto it long term,” he said.General Breedlove said NATO was unsure about their intent. “It is our first guess that these forces will go in to make this a more contiguous, more whole and capable pocket of land in order to then hold onto it long term,” he said.
The self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic claims all territory of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, but occupies only about half of it now. Rebel field commanders have spoken openly of a planned offensive for weeks.The self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic claims all territory of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, but occupies only about half of it now. Rebel field commanders have spoken openly of a planned offensive for weeks.
Russia forcefully denied that any of its troops or equipment had crossed into eastern Ukraine, and a government spokesman dismissed General Breedlove as unreliable and “alarmist.”Russia forcefully denied that any of its troops or equipment had crossed into eastern Ukraine, and a government spokesman dismissed General Breedlove as unreliable and “alarmist.”
“We have stressed repeatedly that there have never been and there are no facts behind the regular blasts of hot air from Brussels regarding the supposed presence of Russian armed forces in Ukraine,” the spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, told Russian news agencies on Wednesday. “We have stopped paying attention to NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Philip Breedlove’s unfounded statements alleging that he observed Russian military convoys invading Ukraine.”“We have stressed repeatedly that there have never been and there are no facts behind the regular blasts of hot air from Brussels regarding the supposed presence of Russian armed forces in Ukraine,” the spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, told Russian news agencies on Wednesday. “We have stopped paying attention to NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Philip Breedlove’s unfounded statements alleging that he observed Russian military convoys invading Ukraine.”
Despite that denial, Col. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military, said at a a news conference in Kiev on Wednesday that there was grim evidence of Russia’s involvement moving in the opposite direction: five truckloads of bodies of slain Russian fighters, driven back to Russia on Tuesday night by a funeral parlor based in Rostov, Russia. Despite that denial, Col. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military, said at a news conference in Kiev on Wednesday that there was grim evidence of Russia’s involvement moving in the opposite direction: five truckloads of bodies of dead Russian fighters, driven back to Russia on Tuesday night.
Sporadic fighting has continued from virtually the moment that the truce agreement was signed on Sept. 5 in Minsk, Belarus, by Ukraine and Russia, as well as by representatives of separatist groups in eastern Ukraine and the O.S.C.E., which helped broker the deal. Ukrainian officials have complained all along that Russia was taking advantage of the so-called truce to reinforce the rebels in eastern Ukraine with more fighters and equipment. Sporadic fighting has continued from virtually the moment the truce agreement was signed on Sept. 5 in Minsk, Belarus. Ukrainian officials have complained ever since that Russia was taking advantage of the cease-fire to reinforce the rebels in eastern Ukraine with more fighters and equipment.
Skirmishes have continued virtually daily along sections of the front line: at the Donetsk Airport, on a highway hub in the town of Debaltseve, at an electrical plant north of Luhansk, and on a road leading from the Russian border to the Azov Sea port of Mariupol. Skirmishes have broken out daily along sections of the front line: at the Donetsk Airport; a highway hub at the town of Debaltseve; at an electrical plant north of Luhansk; and on a road leading from the Russian border to the Azov Sea port of Mariupol. Artillery barrages hit in and near Donetsk multiple times a day owing to the fighting over the airport, now nothing more than an obliterated hulk of scorched steel.
Artillery barrages hit in and near Donetsk multiple times a day owing to the fighting over the airport, now nothing more than an obliterated hulk of scorched steel, unnerving residents who remain in the city. For weeks, however, officials on all sides had insisted that the cease-fire was holding, a state of denial that underscored the intractability of the conflict..
For weeks, however, officials on all sides had insisted that the cease-fire was holding as if force of will alone could perhaps make it so. For President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine, acknowledging the failure of the cease-fire would have meant conceding his inability to exert control in the war zone. For Russia, it would have meant inviting new economic sanctions by Europe and the United States. And for Western officials it would have meant pressure to impose more sanctions, which are unpopular among business interests in their own countries.
The weeks of reluctance to acknowledge the fighting underscored the intractability of the conflict and the extraordinary difficulties that have been faced by policy makers looking for a way out of the conflict.
For the government of President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine, acknowledging the failure of the cease-fire would have meant conceding his inability to exert control in the war zone. For Russia, it would have meant raising the likelihood of additional economic sanctions by Europe and the United States. And for Western officials it would have meant pressure to impose additional sanctions, which are highly unpopular among business interests in their own countries.
The cease-fire agreement signed in Minsk had called for monitoring the Russia-Ukraine border by the O.S.C.E. and and had specifically required the removal of “unlawful military formations, military hardware, as well as militants and mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine.”
The border, however, has remained porous. And the O.S.C.E. has reported that some unmanned drones deployed to monitor the border had come under fire, apparently from inside rebel-held territory, though it was unclear who was responsible.
General Breedlove said the critical point all along has been the lack of border controls.
“What worries me the most, as I’ve said before, is that we have a situation now where the former international border, the current international border, of Ukraine and Russia, is completely porous; it is completely wide open. Forces, money, support, supplies, weapons are flowing back and forth across this border completely at will.”