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| As Kiev Meets on Crisis, Rebel Claims Aid of Russian Troops | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| MOSCOW — Declaring that Russian troops had crossed into Ukraine, President Petro O. Poroshenko on Thursday canceled a planned visit to Turkey and convened a meeting of the national security council to focus on the “marked aggravation of the situation” in the southeast of his country. | MOSCOW — Declaring that Russian troops had crossed into Ukraine, President Petro O. Poroshenko on Thursday canceled a planned visit to Turkey and convened a meeting of the national security council to focus on the “marked aggravation of the situation” in the southeast of his country. |
| The meeting of the national security council will focus on shaping a response, and Ukraine will also request a meeting of the United Nations Security Council. | The meeting of the national security council will focus on shaping a response, and Ukraine will also request a meeting of the United Nations Security Council. |
| Mr. Poroshenko made his comments as the leader of the main separatist group in southeastern Ukraine said that up to 4,000 Russians, including active-duty soldiers on leave, had been fighting against Ukrainian government forces and NATO released images that show Russian artillery units and about 1,000 soldiers operating in Ukraine. | |
| “There are active soldiers fighting among us who preferred to spend their vacation not on the beach, but with us, among their brothers, who are fighting for their freedom,” Aleksandr Zakharchenko, a rebel commander and the prime minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic, said in an interview on Russian state-run television. | “There are active soldiers fighting among us who preferred to spend their vacation not on the beach, but with us, among their brothers, who are fighting for their freedom,” Aleksandr Zakharchenko, a rebel commander and the prime minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic, said in an interview on Russian state-run television. |
| Mr. Zakharchenko said that between 3,000 and 4,000 Russians had fought in the separatist ranks since the conflict erupted last spring. | Mr. Zakharchenko said that between 3,000 and 4,000 Russians had fought in the separatist ranks since the conflict erupted last spring. |
| Russia has long denied sending soldiers or weapons to Ukraine, and the revelation evades the issue of direct Russian involvement by painting the soldiers as volunteers. It suggests, however, that Moscow has sought to organize, and to some extent have control over, a force that could be operated at arm’s length with a backbone of local participation. | Russia has long denied sending soldiers or weapons to Ukraine, and the revelation evades the issue of direct Russian involvement by painting the soldiers as volunteers. It suggests, however, that Moscow has sought to organize, and to some extent have control over, a force that could be operated at arm’s length with a backbone of local participation. |
| The confirmation that thousands of Russian soldiers have been involved in Ukraine is likely to increase tensions with the United States and the European Union, which have threatened harsher sanctions against Russia as a result of any military incursion. | The confirmation that thousands of Russian soldiers have been involved in Ukraine is likely to increase tensions with the United States and the European Union, which have threatened harsher sanctions against Russia as a result of any military incursion. |
| At the same time, Kiev and its Western allies have not responded to criticism that the Ukrainian tactics against the separatists have involved the shelling of civilian areas in rebel strongholds, with the death toll exceeding 2,000, according to the United Nations. | At the same time, Kiev and its Western allies have not responded to criticism that the Ukrainian tactics against the separatists have involved the shelling of civilian areas in rebel strongholds, with the death toll exceeding 2,000, according to the United Nations. |
| The interview with the separatist leader came against a backdrop of fighting in the strategic southern town of Novoazovsk, which sits along the southern land route from Russia to Crimea, which Russia annexed last March. | The interview with the separatist leader came against a backdrop of fighting in the strategic southern town of Novoazovsk, which sits along the southern land route from Russia to Crimea, which Russia annexed last March. |
| Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Moscow of opening a new southern front to relieve pressure on Donetsk and Luhansk farther north, where Ukrainian forces have besieged the separatists. Ukraine’s military said the latest incursion from Russia had involved five armored personnel carriers as well as troops and weapons. | Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Moscow of opening a new southern front to relieve pressure on Donetsk and Luhansk farther north, where Ukrainian forces have besieged the separatists. Ukraine’s military said the latest incursion from Russia had involved five armored personnel carriers as well as troops and weapons. |
| A separatist defeat in the heavily pro-Russian eastern part of Ukraine would deliver a significant domestic political blow to President Vladimir V. Putin and would weaken Moscow’s leverage over Kiev. | A separatist defeat in the heavily pro-Russian eastern part of Ukraine would deliver a significant domestic political blow to President Vladimir V. Putin and would weaken Moscow’s leverage over Kiev. |
| Mr. Zakharchenko, who says he has Ukrainian citizenship, took over as prime minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic earlier this month, replacing Alexander Borodai, a Russian. Several other Russians who had figured prominently in the rebel ranks, including the military commander Igor Strelkov, have also dropped from sight in recent weeks. | Mr. Zakharchenko, who says he has Ukrainian citizenship, took over as prime minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic earlier this month, replacing Alexander Borodai, a Russian. Several other Russians who had figured prominently in the rebel ranks, including the military commander Igor Strelkov, have also dropped from sight in recent weeks. |
| In the interview with the official satellite channel Rossiya 24, Mr. Zakharchenko said many former professional soldiers had come as volunteers, out of a sense of duty. | In the interview with the official satellite channel Rossiya 24, Mr. Zakharchenko said many former professional soldiers had come as volunteers, out of a sense of duty. |
| “There were about 3,000 or 4,000 of them in our ranks,” Mr. Zakharchenko said, referring to the number of Russians who had fought in Ukraine. “Many of them have gone home, but the majority have remained here. Unfortunately, some have been killed.” | “There were about 3,000 or 4,000 of them in our ranks,” Mr. Zakharchenko said, referring to the number of Russians who had fought in Ukraine. “Many of them have gone home, but the majority have remained here. Unfortunately, some have been killed.” |
| Interviews this week with captured Russian soldiers in Ukraine, as well as news reports in independent Russian papers about burials of two paratroopers killed in combat, are raising new questions about the extent of Russian military involvement in Ukraine. | Interviews this week with captured Russian soldiers in Ukraine, as well as news reports in independent Russian papers about burials of two paratroopers killed in combat, are raising new questions about the extent of Russian military involvement in Ukraine. |
| Dmitri S. Peskov, the spokesman for Mr. Putin, was quoted as saying that reports of funerals for Russian paratroopers killed in Ukraine needed to be checked. | Dmitri S. Peskov, the spokesman for Mr. Putin, was quoted as saying that reports of funerals for Russian paratroopers killed in Ukraine needed to be checked. |
| The official explanation regarding the captured soldiers, stated by Mr. Putin himself, is that they had strayed over the border after getting lost. | The official explanation regarding the captured soldiers, stated by Mr. Putin himself, is that they had strayed over the border after getting lost. |