Ukrainian army

Kiev sees Russian invasion - "won't use force to stop it"

Some 100 trucks carrying Russian aid meant for southeastern Ukraine by Friday afternoon crossed the customs, said a spokesman for the Russian customs.

The head of the Ukrainian Security Service at the same time described this as "a direct Russian invasion."

Ukrainian peacekeepers to leave Kosovo

PRIŠTINA -- Ukraine will pull out most of its troops from the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo (KFOR) by the end of the month, KFOR announced on Monday.

They will be replaced by Hungarian soldiers.

Ukraine has some 160 troops serving in KFOR, while Hungary has over 200 peacekeepers.

Putin talks to Merkel; Russia responds to western sanctions

MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that "Kiev is responsible for the crisis in the southeast of Ukraine."

Pro-Russian rebels in the east of Ukraine reportedly shot down two fighter jets of Kiev's military forces, agencies from the country said.

According to the press service of the so-called "anti-terrorist" operation's headquarters, two Su-25 aircraft were shot near the Savur-Mogila memorial, in the Shakhtarsk region near Russia's border.

Five civilians die as Ukrainian forces shell town

LUGANSK -- Five civilians were killed and 16 others wounded in the last 24 hours in the clashes in Lugansk, in southeastern Ukraine.

Infrastructure facilities and 22 homes have been damaged, according to the press service of the city assembly of Lugansk.

More accusations, still no investigation

MOSCOW -- The Russian military has said that a Ukrainian SU-25 warplane was flying in the vicinity of a Malaysia Airlines aircraft shortly before it crashed in Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry claims that "Kiev must explain why a military plane was following a passenger flight."

Deputies' Chamber speaker Valeriu Zgonea sends the entire support to the families and friends of the victims of the airplane crash in Ukraine.

Ukraine's ambassador to Romania Teofil Bauer has stated on Friday that Malaysian Airlines' Boeing 777 airliner was shot down by terrorists; he maintained that Ukraine has not used its air defence capabilities, since the beginning of the conflict.

World in shock as Malaysian plane crashes over Ukraine

KIEV -- None of the 298 passengers and crew of a Malaysian passenger plane that crashed in eastern Ukraine survived, and the world is in shock over the tragedy.

Malaysian airliner carrying 298 people from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed on July 17 in rebel-held east Ukraine, as Kiev said the jet was shot down in a "terrorist" attack.