Ukrainian Forces Engage With Russians

Russia's de facto invasion of Ukraine continues, with NATO reporting "well over 1,000 Russian troops" operating in southeastern Ukraine in support of pro-Russian separatists.  Despite the capture of 11 Russian soldiers inside Ukraine in the past few days, Russia continues to deny any military incursion into Ukraine.  The cross-border troop movements have occurred at the same time Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was meeting with Russian autocrat Vladimir "Vlad the Invader" Putin in Minsk, Belarus.

The objective of the Russian forces appears to be Mariupol, a sizable port city northeast of the Crimean peninsula.  Ukrainian forces were driven from the border town of  Novoazovsk in the past two days by what were described as pro-Russian separatists supported by units of the Russian army.