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Ukraine Says Destroyed Part Of Russian Armored Column

August 15, 2014
by RFE/RL

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says Ukrainian forces have destroyed part of a Russian armored column that crossed the border.

The presidential press service said that Poroshenko, in a telephone conversation on August 15, told British Prime Minister David Cameron that 'a significant part of the equipment' had been destroyed by Ukrainian artillery.

Reporters for two British newspapers reported on August 14 seeing about 23 Russian armored personnel carriers (APCs) cross into Ukraine.

The APCs had earlier joined a Russian aid convoy not far from the border.

A Ukrainian military spokesman said Ukrainian forces had tracked the Russian armored column as soon as it crossed the border.

The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine of attempting to disrupt the delivery of Russian humanitarian aid to eastern Ukraine.

The ministry accused Kyiv of stepping up military operations with the 'obvious goal' of blocking the agreed route of the aid convoy.

Russia says the convoy of around 280 trucks is carrying water, food, and other aid for people in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces are fighting pro-Russian separatists, but Western officials have expressed concern it could be a pretext for a military incursion.

Earlier on August 15, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance had observed a Russian 'incursion' into Ukraine.

Rasmussen, speaking on a visit to Copenhagen, said the incursion occurred overnight in a 'clear demonstration of continued Russian involvement in the destabilization of eastern Ukraine.'

The Russian aid convoy arrived at the Ukrainian border on August 14, but no final agreement appears to have been reached on how the aid will be delivered.

Russia said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was continuing talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, Pavlo Klimkin, on practical issues related to the deliveries.

Earlier, officials said an understanding had been reached between Russia, Ukraine, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) regarding the mission.

Ukrainian officials said dozens of Ukrainian border guards and customs officers crossed into Russia to inspect the convoy.

ICRC official Laurent Corbaz, who is currently in Kyiv, said the ICRC would itself deliver the aid but had still not received security guaranties 'from all parties to the conflict.'

In a statement released by the ICRC in Geneva, Corbaz said the aid operation 'will take some time' because of the logistical and security problems involved.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto was traveling to Kyiv after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on August 15.

Niinisto said he hoped a Russian humanitarian aid delivery would pave the way for a cease-fire between the government and the pro-Russian separatists.

EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on August 15 said the European Union would consider any unilateral military action by Russia in Ukraine as a blatant violation of international law.

A statement said the EU remained ready to consider further sanctions on Russia 'in light of the evolution of the situation on the ground.'

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Klimkin said he and Russia's Lavrov will meet alongside the top diplomats from France and Germany in Berlin on August 17.

With reporting by UNIAN, Reuters, and AFP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine- russia-armored-column-destroyed/26532792.html

Copyright (c) 2014. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.