|
 Russia did not immediately respond to the accusation which, if
confirmed, would be almost certain to finally kill off a tattered
European-brokered truce that came into force on Sunday. Moscow has
always denied such charges in the past.
Novoazovsk lies on the Sea of Azov, 40 km (25 miles) east of the
port city of Mariupol. It was captured by rebels last year and could
be a launching-pad for more pressure on Mariupol, a gateway to the
south and possibly to the Crimea peninsula annexed by Russia a year
ago.
"In recent days, despite the Minsk (ceasefire) agreement, military
equipment and ammunition have been sighted crossing from Russia into
Ukraine," military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said.
He said more than 20 Russian tanks, 10 missile systems and busloads
of troops had crossed the border into Ukraine.
Western nations have clung to the hope that they can revive the
peace deal brokered by France and Germany in the Belarussian capital
Minsk on Feb. 12 even though the rebels ignored it to seize the
important railway hub of Debaltseve.
The German, Russian, Ukrainian and French foreign ministers are
expected to meet next week to pursue peace moves, Russian media
reported. But hopes were slim even before the latest sighting of
Russian reinforcements, also reported by the United States this
week.
Renewed fighting between the pro-Russian separatists and government
forces in east Ukraine also soured the mood as crowds gathered in
Kiev for the first anniversary of the uprising that toppled a
Moscow-leaning president but culminated in war.
"The number of attacks show the terrorists do not want to completely
silence their guns," Ukrainian military spokesman Anatoly Stelmach
said, listing 49 attacks in the past 24 hours.
DEVASTATION IN DEBALTSEVE
The fiercest fighting since a truce came into effect on Sunday was
in and around Debaltseve, a strategic rail hub, until demoralized
and weary Ukrainian forces withdrew on Wednesday.
A Reuters correspondent who reached Debaltseve for the first time
since this week's fighting said much of the town was in ruins, with
little left of rows of apartment blocks.
The black, blue and red flag of the rebels' self-proclaimed Donetsk
People's Republic flew over the town hall.
Many of the walls of the buildings still standing were pock-marked
by bullets, or had huge holes blown in them, and the burnt-out hulks
of tanks and military trucks lay abandoned on the road.
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Heavily armed rebels and tanks patrolled the streets on the
outskirts, where bridges had been blown up and the railway appeared
to have suffered a lot of damage. Some rebels were on the lookout
for Ukrainian soldiers with binoculars.
The rebels said government forces had also shelled their positions,
including in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk, the main city in
the two regions they control.
In Kiev, large crowds headed for Independence Square, called locally
the Maidan, in the heart of the capital to mark the first
anniversary of the shootings of about 100 protesters and the
overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovich, who fled to Russia soon
after the killings.
Some people wore combat fatigues showing allegiance to
pro-government militias that have fought pro-Russian separatists who
rose up in the east last April. The mood was somber.
More than 5,600 people have been killed in fighting since mid-April
last year, soon after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine following
Yanukovich's overthrow.
The failure to crush the rebellion, which Kiev and the West say is
backed by Russian troops and weaponry, is a bitter blow to the
pro-Western leadership in Kiev.
It has not only sapped morale but also deprived central and western
Ukraine of access to an industrial region that provided about 16
percent of gross domestic product, making the country's economic
crisis even worse.
(Additional reporting by Natalya Zinets; Writing by Timothy
Heritage; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Giles Elgood)
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