MOSCOW, August 16 (RIA Novosti) - Washington cannot confirm Kiev’s claims that a Russian military column crossed into Ukraine, US National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson Caitlin Hayden said in a statement Saturday.
“We are working to gather more information regarding reports that Ukraine’s security forces disabled vehicles in a Russian military convoy inside Ukraine. We are not currently in a position to confirm these reports,” she said in a statement.
However, Hayden added that the United States believed Russia to be providing the independence supporters with weapons and hardware and that Moscow could help de-escalate the situation by “stopping its supply of weapons, support and cash to separatists.”
Earlier, the United Nations also said it could not verify the reports that the Ukrainian forces hit Russian military vehicles inside Ukraine, and called for peaceful resolution of the conflict.
The confrontation in Ukraine started when the Kiev-backed forces tried to suppress the independence supporters in eastern Ukraine who refused to acknowledge the authorities that came to power following the February 22 government coup. Russia has repeatedly denied its involvement in Ukraine’s internal affairs and called for a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis.
