A group of Russian paratroopers have been captured inside Ukrainian territory, and the Ukrainian government accused the Russian Federation of sending them on a "special mission" to assist pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Videos of two of the paratroopers left no doubt of their authenticity, with one saying:
"Stop sending in our boys. Why? This is not our war. And if we weren't here, none of this would have happened. They would have sorted things out with the government themselves."At the same time, Russian military forces have stepped up their attacks at the border between the two countries, with a Russian attack helicopter killing 4 Ukrainian border guards. There are also reports by Ukraine that pro-Russian separatists are being assisted by a column of Russian armored vehicles and are attacking the southeastern Ukrainian town of Novoazovsk.
Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin is meeting in Belarus today with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to discuss Russian intervention in Ukraine. These incidents undoubtedly topped the agenda.
