The U.S. said Russia is firing artillery over its border into Ukraine, the first time American officials have publicly alleged direct participation in fighting on behalf of separatists.
"Russia is firing artillery from within Russia to attack Ukrainian military positions," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters yesterday in Washington, offering no evidence for what she described only as information "from our intelligence friends."
The allegations are at odds with Russian denials that the country is aiding the pro-Russian rebels fighting the Ukrainian government in eastern Ukraine. Questions about Russia's role have grown since the downing of a civilian plane on July 17, killing all 298 passengers and crew.
The U.S. has said that a surface-to-air missile fired from territory held by the rebels in eastern Ukraine shot down the plane, while stopping short of alleging direct involvement by Russia.
The artillery fire from Russian military units near the border was aimed at Ukrainian military targets, according to Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman.
The firing at Ukrainian military positions started about two weeks ago, according to a U.S. intelligence official who isn't authorized to speak publicly.
Losing Control
Russian President Vladimir Putin "has taken a decision to escalate" the Ukraine crisis, Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said yesterday in response to a question about the artillery fire at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.
"My fear is that Putin may light a fire that he may lose control of" because there's "a rising tide of nationalism in Europe that has been created by the Russian activities," Dempsey said.
In her briefing yesterday, Harf also said that the U.S. has "new evidence that the Russians intend to deliver heavier and more powerful multiple-rocket launchers to the separatist forces in Ukraine."
Harf, a former spokeswoman for the Central Intelligence Agency, declined to say how the U.S. reached its conclusions on Russian intentions and activity.
Heavy Weaponry
Three U.S. intelligence officials who briefed reporters on July 22 on the downing of Malaysian Air Flight MH17 said they have evidence of Russia supplying the separatists with heavy weaponry, including multiple-rocket launchers and tanks.
The officials, who discussed classified information on condition of anonymity, also released what they said was a photograph of a site near Rostov, Russia, that is used to train rebels fighting Ukraine's military.
They made no mention of direct firing of artillery from Russia into Ukraine.
U.S. Representative Ed Royce, a California Republican who is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the latest allegations "an ominous escalation of the conflict."
"These actions discredit all previous rhetoric from the Kremlin that it sought to de-escalate tensions and support peace in Ukraine," Royce said in a statement.
The U.S. is pressing European allies to impose heavier economic sanctions on Russia. The European Union is preparing to sanction Russia's most senior spies and security officials, according to a draft document obtained by Bloomberg News.
In Kiev, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk resigned after his coalition government collapsed and President Petro Poroshenko signaled his support for early elections.
Even as economic sanctions against Russia build, Putin will resist mounting pressure to abandon the rebels because he refuses to be seen as weak, according to three people familiar with Kremlin discussions.
To contact the reporters on this story: David Lerman in Washington at dlerman1@bloomberg.net; Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: John Walcott at jwalcott9@bloomberg.net Larry Liebert, Justin Blum
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