US releases photos showing Russian soldiers as masked armed men in Ukraine

A document released by the US State Department shows pictures that tend to prove that the armed masked militants in eastern Ukrainian cities are Russian soldiers.

Zee Media Bureau/Supriya Jha

Kiev: In what could be a robust proof of Russian involvement in eastern Ukraine tension, a document released by the US State Department shows pictures that tend to prove that the armed masked militants in eastern Ukrainian cities are Russian soldiers.

An AP photo of the printed copies of a presentation released by the U.S. Department of State on Thursday shows pictures with captions like “Russian intervention in Ukraine”, “Russian equipment in Ukraine”, ``False Flag Soldiers``, etc.

One of the photos that purportedly shows a militant in eastern Ukrainian town of Kramatosk and Slavyonsk, wielding what appears to be the “RPG-30 rocket launchers” which are issued to Russian soldiers only.

In another photo captioned “Legacy soldiers”, the picture highlighted a soldier in Ukraine`s Kramatosk and Slavyonsk, and that very soldier is said to have participated in Russian incursion in Georgia in 2008.

Ukraine`s officials are brandishing these images as a fresh proof of Russian intervention, saying the photos show Russia`s "sabotage-reconnaissance groups" acting in Ukrainian towns, reported the CNN which has a copy of the dossier.

The report cites Ukrainian officials saying that the photos of armed men in eastern towns resemble those of Russian forces taken in Crimea.

Also, a Russian military officer and a woman Russian intelligence agent had been arrested last week in Ukraine say the authorities according to the report.

The pictures haven`t yet been verified but if confirmed as real, it will prove right the claims made by the West and Ukraine that Russia has sent forces in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that Russia has no involvement in the situation in eastern Ukraine.

Putin had similarly claimed that Russia had no intention to annex Crimea but the Crimea crisis culminated in takeover by the Russian Federation after a referendum.

As tensions flared up in eastern Ukraine`s cities, suspicion was cast at Russia to be behind the renewed heat in pro-Russian regions but Moscow has been denying any role.

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