Ukraine slams 'Russian tanks' incursion

In Ukraine, unverified footage published on Thursday purportedly showed separatist rebels crossing the border in tanks and other military vehicles from Russia into the east of the country.

Despite denials by Moscow of sending the equipment and aiding the rebels, Kyiv slammed the tank incursion as unacceptable with Ukranian President Petro Poroshenko reportedly speaking directly on the phone to his counterpart Vladimir Putin about the incident.

In Tbilisi, after talks with Poroshenko, EU chief Jose Manuel Barroso called for calm.

“He conveyed to me his extreme concern with ongoing armed unrest in eastern Ukraine and also today’s incident with Russian tanks that according to Ukrainian authorities have crossed today the Ukrainian border,’‘ Barroso said.

Russia has repeatedly denied providing any military support to the rebels who have taken control of several towns and cities in eastern Ukraine.