--- description: The Pentagon said Friday that Russian warplanes entered Ukrainian airspace several times in the last 24 hours. title: Pentagon: Russia Violated Ukrainian Airspace image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79f313986692c99b/69868ca6e8524b70ca602964/04180309.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 * [ukraine crisis](/tag/ukraine-crisis/) ## ukraine crisis Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Pentagon: Russia Violated Ukrainian Airspace  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 25, 2014 10:43 PM CUT  Ukrainian Special forces in position at a checkpoint on the main road between Sloviansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, April 24 2014. Ukrainian Special forces in position at a checkpoint on the main road between Sloviansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, April 24 2014.Maysun—EPA  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 25, 2014 10:43 PM CUT The Pentagon said Friday that Russian warplanes [entered Ukrainian airspace](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/04/25/russian-ukraine-standard-and-poors-credit-rating/8140499/ "undefined") several times in the last 24 hours, USA _Today_ reports. “We call upon the Russians to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation,” said Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, according to USA Today. The violation of Ukrainian airspace threatens to escalate an already tense showdown in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian military and police are conducting operations against pro-Russian separatists, raising concerns of a Russian intervention. Russia has amassed thousands of troops along the border, a month after Russia annexed the southern Crimean peninsula. Ukraine’s acting president Oleksander Turchinov said earlier Friday that his country [would treat any incursion](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/25/us-ukraine-crisis-invasion-idUSBREA3O0XI20140425 "undefined") by Russian troops across the border as an invasion, Reuters reports. \[[_USA Today_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/04/25/russian-ukraine-standard-and-poors-credit-rating/8140499/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/77968/pentagon-russia-violated-ukrainian-airspace/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/77968/pentagon-russia-violated-ukrainian-airspace/"},"headline":"Pentagon: Russia Violated Ukrainian Airspace","datePublished":"2014-04-25T22:43:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:31:02.005Z","description":"A Pentagon official said Russian warplanes violated Ukrainian airspace several times on Friday and called on Russia to \"de-escalate the situation.\" Ukraine's acting president said his country would treat any incursion by Russian troops across the border as an invasion","url":"https://time.com/77968/pentagon-russia-violated-ukrainian-airspace/","keywords":["ukraine crisis","Ukraine","russia","Pentagon","United States"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79f313986692c99b/69868ca6e8524b70ca602964/04180309.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79f313986692c99b/69868ca6e8524b70ca602964/04180309.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Crisis in Ukraine","caption":"Crisis in Ukraine","creditText":"Maysun—EPA","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":"/tag/ukraine-crisis/","name":"ukraine crisis"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/77968/pentagon-russia-violated-ukrainian-airspace/","name":"Pentagon: Russia Violated Ukrainian Airspace"}}]}] ```