Ukraine's president said Friday that Russian military vehicles crossed Ukraine's border overnight and many were "eliminated." Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told British Prime Minister David Cameron during a phone call that journalists' reports of "Russian military machines" crossing into Ukrainian territory were "trustworthy and confirmed because the majority of that machines had been eliminated by the Ukrainian artillery at night," according to a statement on Ukraine's presidential website.
Poroshenko had yet to provide proof of the destroyed vehicles, but NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that NATO had observed a Russian "incursion" into Ukraine. "What we have seen last night is the continuation of what we have seen for some time," Rasmussen said during a trip to Denmark. A spokesman for Russia's border guard service was quoted by Russian news agencies as denying that any Russian military units had entered Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for Ukrainian troops to stand down so that a convoy could deliver "humanitarian aid" to east Ukraine, which has been enveloped in fighting since April.
IN-DEPTH
- Russian APCs Mass Near Ukraine's Border as Aid Convoy Waits
- Wary Ukraine Tells Russia Red Cross Must Supervise Any Aid Convoy
- Stocks Close Higher as Putin's Words Ease Geopolitical Concerns
— Elisha Fieldstadt, with The Associated Press
