--- description: Ukrainian and U.S. officials have accused Moscow of sending armed columns into Ukraine as part of a “Russian-directed counteroffensive" title: Kremlin Blasted for Escalating Ukraine War image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9fc7b2aef16e7e7d/6986a133169ab028c027ae9a/rtr43y5f.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Washington and Kiev Say Moscow Is Sending Heavily Armed Troops Into Ukraine ## Video: Kerry Says Not ‘a Shred’ of Evidence Russia Wants to Ease Ukraine Fighting [Watch (HLS stream): Kerry Says Not ‘a Shred’ of Evidence Russia Wants to Ease Ukraine Fighting](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jiJRw6sd.m3u8) (0:50)  _Published 2014-07-29. Kerry warned Russia would face stiffer sanctions if it continued to arm and support Ukraine's separatists_ by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 28, 2014 9:24 AM CUT  A group of Russian servicemen, taken prisoner by Ukrainian authorities, are presented at a news conference in Kiev on Aug. 27, 2014\. Ukraine said on Tuesday its forces had captured a group of Russian paratroopers who had crossed into Ukrainian territory on a "special mission," but Moscow said they had ended up there by mistake A group of Russian servicemen, taken prisoner by Ukrainian authorities, are presented at a news conference in Kiev on Aug. 27, 2014\. Ukraine said on Tuesday its forces had captured a group of Russian paratroopers who had crossed into Ukrainian territory on a "special mission," but Moscow said they had ended up there by mistakeValentyn Ogirenko—Reuters by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 28, 2014 9:24 AM CUT Ukrainian and U.S. officials accused Moscow of sending heavily armed columns across the border into Ukraine on Wednesday — a move that Washington says is likely part of a “Russian-directed counteroffensive” against Kiev. During a press conference in Washington on Wednesday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said reports indicated that “additional columns of Russian tanks, multiple rocket launchers, and armored vehicles” entered southeastern Ukraine this week, sharply escalating the five-month-old conflict. “These incursions indicate a Russian-directed counteroffensive is likely under way in Donetsk and Luhansk. Clearly, that is of deep concern to us,” Psaki [told](http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2014/08/231008.htm#UKRAINE "undefined") reporters. In Kiev, military spokesman Andriy Lysenko [told](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/28/world/europe/ukraine-russia-novoazovsk-crimea.html "undefined") the New York _Times_ that an armored Russian column entered the town of Amvrosiyivka on Wednesday in what was likely an attempt to expand the current multipronged counteroffensive against Ukrainian troops. Separatist forces have long claimed that they use weaponry captured from Ukrainian arsenals. However, American officials argue that the hardware in rebel hands includes highly sophisticated air-defense systems — equipment that the Ukrainian armed forces are not believed to posses, according to the _Times_. Ukraine went on to accuse the Kremlin of directing troops toward the coastal city of Mariupol, in what appears to be a bid to draw Ukrainian forces away from the heavy fighting near the rebel strongholds in Luhansk and Donetsk. The escalation of the conflict comes only hours after an inconclusive round of talks wrapped up between Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Belarus on Tuesday night. Following the meeting, Putin described the increasingly violent war in Ukraine as a purely domestic affair. “Frankly speaking, we cannot discuss any conditions for a ceasefire or possible agreements between Kiev, Donetsk and Luhansk,” Putin told reporters, according to a [transcript](http://eng.kremlin.ru/transcripts/22852 "undefined") published by his office. “This is not our business; it is a domestic matter of Ukraine.” Putin’s remarks came less than 24 hours after Ukrainian authorities said they captured at least nine Russian paratroopers inside the country earlier this week. Russian officials later went on to explain that the presence of members of an elite Russian airborne division in Ukraine was likely the result of an accidental incursion that occurred during a patrol. Putin brushed off the incident — explaining that such incursions aren’t really that big a deal. “After all, Ukrainian service members entered our territory with armored equipment,” said Putin. “And we didn’t have any problems.” The U.N. [estimates](http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Sitrep%208%5FUkraine%5F22.08.2014.pdf "undefined") that more than 2,000 people have been killed since the pro-Russia uprising kicked off in April. The fighting has also displaced close to 400,000. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3202234/ukraine-us-putin-russian-troops-war-poroshenko/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3202234/ukraine-us-putin-russian-troops-war-poroshenko/"},"headline":"Washington and Kiev Say Moscow Is Sending Heavily Armed Troops Into Ukraine","datePublished":"2014-08-28T09:24:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:53:45.705Z","description":"Putin shrugs and says the war is none of his business but a \"domestic matter\" for Kiev","url":"https://time.com/3202234/ukraine-us-putin-russian-troops-war-poroshenko/","keywords":["Ukraine","russia","White House","Washington","Vladimir Putin","Kremlin","Kiev","Viktor Yanukovych","Petro Poroshenko"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9fc7b2aef16e7e7d/6986a133169ab028c027ae9a/rtr43y5f.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9fc7b2aef16e7e7d/6986a133169ab028c027ae9a/rtr43y5f.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A group of Russian servicemen, who are detained by Ukrainian authorities, attend a news conference in Kiev","caption":"A group of Russian servicemen, who are detained by Ukrainian authorities, attend a news conference in Kiev","creditText":"Valentyn Ogirenko—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3202234/ukraine-us-putin-russian-troops-war-poroshenko/","name":"Washington and Kiev Say Moscow Is Sending Heavily Armed Troops Into Ukraine"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Kerry Says Not ‘a Shred’ of Evidence Russia Wants to Ease Ukraine Fighting","description":"Kerry warned Russia would face stiffer sanctions if it continued to arm and support Ukraine's separatists","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/jiJRw6sd/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-07-29T19:26:22.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jiJRw6sd.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3202234/ukraine-us-putin-russian-troops-war-poroshenko/","duration":"PT50S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3202234/ukraine-us-putin-russian-troops-war-poroshenko/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```