Ukraine Says It Destroyed Part of Armed Convoy From Russia

For Bloomberg, Daryna Krasnolutska and Scott Rose report:  Ukraine said its troops attacked and partially destroyed a column of armed vehicles that had crossed the border from Russian territory, while Russia said it was concerned about an attack on another convoy carrying aid.

Ukrainian government troops engaged the vehicles that had arrived overnight through a rebel-held section of the border, Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the country’s military, told reporters in Kiev today. Ukrainian soldiers continue to come under shelling, including rounds fired from Russia, he said.

The government in Kiev has for months said that separatist rebels in its easternmost regions are receiving support from Russia, which backs them with artillery fire. Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the Ukrainian unrest. The Foreign Ministry in Moscow said it was concerned about potential attempts to disrupt the humanitarian convoy and repeated a call for a cease-fire to allow for aid delivery.

The incursion last night isn’t seen by Ukraine as a new development or a possible start of an invasion by Russia, Defense Ministry spokesman Leonid Matyukhin said by phone earlier. The vehicles were painted white to camouflage the operation as a peacekeeping mission, he said.

Putin Call

The standoff is adding to unease over plans by Russia, which has about 275 trucks parked near its western border loaded with what it says is humanitarian aid for rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine. European Union governments warned Russia against using humanitarian missions as cover to bring troops into Ukraine, expressing frustration at the Kremlin’s refusal to heed calls to de-escalate the conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, under increasing international pressure for allegedly supporting separatists in Ukraine, pledged during a visit to Crimea yesterday that he would work to halt the conflict.

The conflict is coming to a head as Ukrainian government forces push to dislodge pro-Russian insurgents from their strongholds of Luhansk and Donetsk. The authorities in Kiev have been saying for months that the separatist rebels are receiving reinforcements from Russian territory.

Russia has only deployed forces to patrol its side of the frontier and its troops didn’t cross into Ukraine, the state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing the FSB security service’s border guard division. Major General Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, declined to comment.

To contact the reporters on this story: Daryna Krasnolutska in Kiev at [email protected]; Scott Rose in Moscow at [email protected]

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at [email protected] Paul Abelsky

Bloomberg (Developing)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-15/ukraine-says-it-destroyed-part-of-armed-vehicles-from-russia.html