Russia Moves Artillery Units Into Ukraine, NATO Says
The
Russian military has moved artillery units manned by Russian personnel
inside Ukrainian territory in recent days and is using them to fire at
Ukrainian forces, NATO officials said on Friday.
WASHINGTON
— The Russian military has moved artillery units manned by Russian
personnel inside Ukrainian territory in recent days and was using them
to fire at Ukrainian forces, NATO officials said on Friday.
The
West has long accused Russia of supporting the separatist forces in
eastern Ukraine, but this is the first time it has said it had evidence
that the Russian military was operating in Ukrainian territory.
The
Russian move represents a significant escalation of the Kremlin’s
involvement in the fighting there and comes as a convoy of Russian
trucks with humanitarian provisions has crossed into Ukrainian territory
without Kiev’s permission.
Since
mid-August NATO has received multiple reports of the direct involvement
of Russian forces, “including Russian airborne, air defense and special
operations forces in Eastern Ukraine,” said Oana Lungescu, a
spokeswoman for NATO.
“Russian
artillery support — both cross-border and from within Ukraine — is
being employed against the Ukrainian armed forces,” she added.
NATO’s secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, criticized the Russian moves in a statement issued in Brussels on Friday.
“I
condemn the entry of a Russian so-called humanitarian convoy into
Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian authorities and
without any involvement of the International Committee of the Red
Cross,” Mr. Rasmussen’s statement said.
“These
developments are even more worrying as they coincide with a major
escalation in Russian military involvement in Eastern Ukraine since
mid-August, including the use of Russian forces,” the statement
continued, adding: “We have also seen transfers of large quantities of
advanced weapons, including tanks, armored personnel carriers and
artillery to separatist groups in Eastern Ukraine. Moreover, NATO is
observing an alarming buildup of Russian ground and air forces in the
vicinity of Ukraine.”
Ukraine Crisis in Maps
Fighting continued as a Russian humanitarian convoy
advanced toward Ukraine, the latest update to the current visual survey
of the continuing dispute, with maps and satellite imagery showing rebel
and military movement.
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