The convoy of 32 tanks, 16 howitzer cannons and 30 trucks of troops and equipment crossed the border into the rebel-controlled Luhansk region of Ukraine today. NATO criticized the Russian “aggression,” but U.S. President Barack Obama is said to be more interested in golf than the world.
Ukraine’s military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in a televised briefing: “The deployment continues of military equipment and Russian mercenaries to the front lines.”
Russian Tank in Ukraine
Sky News is reporting that Ukraine’s president Petro Poroshenko described the action as a “significant” violation of the truce signed on 5 September at Minsk. That deal was meant to stall the conflict in the east, which has claimed more than 4,000 lives.
“The President noted a significant deviation from the implementation of the Minsk (ceasefire) protocol, which is leading to further escalation of the conflict” a statement on the presidential website said.