Ukraine's president says Russian troops have invaded his country. It's a move widely predicted in the West and strongly denied in Moscow.
President Petro Poroshenko's office uploaded this video Thursday saying he was canceling a planned trip to Turkey because, "The president must stay in Kiev today."
UKRAINE TODAY REPORTER: "Unverified footage has appeared online purporting to show Russian tanks in Ukrainian villages close to the border."
UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER ARSENIY YATSENYUK ON BBC: "Russian military boots are on the Ukrainian ground."
Ukraine's prime minister went on to say although his military can handle pro-Russian separatists, it can't stand up to Russia's military.
Clashes have been reported in four major cities along the Russian-Ukrainian border and the Sea of Azov.
Ukraine's military and pro-Russian separatists have fought on and off for months now in Eastern Ukraine with the U.S. saying Russia was providing funding and weapons to the militants. Ukraine now says when its military was close to an all-out victory, Russia itself got involved.
The BBC also reports the soldiers in videos now emerging from Eastern Ukraine have no IDs or visible markings on their uniforms.
If that sounds familiar, it's because the same thing happened last spring when unidentified gunmen captured key buildings in the southern Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. Russia initially denied any involvement, but then about a month and a half later admitted its troops were involved in helping the separatists. (Video via Euronews)
Headlines quickly emerged from Russian media like RT saying Ukraine had no proof, and Russian parliament official Leonid Slutsky called Ukraine's allegations lies.
Slutsky told RIA Novosti: "Lies have become habitual for the so-called Ukrainian authorities, so [Ukrainian President] Poroshenko is not going to surprise anyone in Russia, or in the West. I can only say that there are no grounds for such claims."
This comes only a few days after Ukraine says it detained 10 Russian paratroopers who crossed its border, although militants have since said any Russian troops it has fighting in Ukraine are simply spending their vacation time fighting for a cause they believe in. (Video via YouTube / ИС)
Tensions in Ukraine started late last year when then-President Viktor Yanukovych spurned an economic deal with the European Union in favor of a bailout from Russia. Protesters eventually ousted Yanukovych from power, sparking the latest conflict between the new government and militants.
