"Just this week three big convoys crossed our border toward Lugansk, Donetsk and Debaltseve," Poroshenko said, referring to rebel-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine.
In a speech in Kiev for Independence Day celebrations, Poroshenko accused Russia of having sent a total of up to 500 tanks, 400 artillery systems and up to 950 military armored vehicles to pro-Russian rebels, apparently talking about the whole conflict, although he did not specify the time period for these deliveries.
Kiev and Western countries accuse Russia of supplying arms to the rebels and deploying regular troops in the separatist east, which Moscow denies.
Asked to comment on Poroshenko's remarks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday, "Such unfounded and disgraceful statements from Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko have become commonplace ... Their goal is to break the 'genetic code' ensuring the unity of our nations. I think he won't succeed in that."
Merkel and Hollande met Putin and Poroshenko in the Belarusian capital Minsk in February, emerging with a peace deal that promised to end the fighting quickly and resolve all political disputes by the end of the year.
The peace deal has since repeatedly been broken by both sides. The death toll in the 16-month-long war is now close to 6,900. Poroshenko said that 50,000 Russian soldiers are deployed on the border with Ukraine and 9,000 Russian servicemen are among the 40,000 fighters of the separatist force.
Despite Western sanctions that "deal Russia's economy a hard blow," Moscow "has still not given up the idea of a direct intervention or a rebel assault in the country's interior," Poroshenko said.
[globaltimes.cn]
24/8/15
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