Ukraine: Nato to meet amid claims of Russian invasion
The Ukrainian government says its forces are now fighting Russian troops, not Russian-backed separatists

Emergency meetings have been called by Nato, the United Nations and the European Union after Kiev accused Moscow of a de facto invasion and Barack Obama said Russia was engineering the violence in Ukraine.
The US president said that fighting was not the result of an internal uprising, but of "deep Russian involvement", the BBC reports. President Poroshenko of Ukraine accused Russia of sending troops and armoured vehicles to fight in the southeast of his country.
The US national security council will meet at the White House and Nato and EU leaders will also discuss their options later today. An emergency session of the UN Security Council has been convened.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Russia denies that it has sent any troops to eastern Ukraine, but Nato said that satellite photographs released yesterday showed that Russian armoured vehicles and artillery had been moving across the border from Russia into Ukraine for up to a week, The Guardian reports.
Speaking at a news conference in Washington, Obama pointed the finger at Russia's role in a conflict that has killed more than 2,000 people. "There is no doubt that this is not a home-grown, indigenous uprising in eastern Ukraine," he said.
"The separatists are trained by Russia, they are armed by Russia, they are funded by Russia. Russia has deliberately and repeatedly violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and the new images of Russian forces inside Ukraine make that plain for the world to see."
However, Obama repeated that there would be no American military response to the latest developments.
Ukraine's prime minister, Arseny Yatsenyuk, asked the EU and US to put a freeze on Russian assets. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said the EU would discuss its response to the accusations at a summit this weekend and hinted at the possibility of further sanctions.
The Ukrainian military confirmed that its soldiers had been forced to withdraw from Novoazovsk to defend the strategically important coastal town of Mariupol. Ukraine insisted that its forces are now fighting "Russian troops" rather than pro-Russian separatists along the country's southeastern coast.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - April 19, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - free trade, judicial pushback, and more
By The Week US
-
5 educational cartoons about the Harvard pushback
Cartoons Artists take on academic freedom, institutional resistance, and more
By The Week US
-
One-pan black chickpeas with baharat and orange recipe
The Week Recommends This one-pan dish offers bold flavours, low effort and minimum clean up
By The Week UK
-
Russian strike kills dozens in Ukraine
Speed Read The Sumy ballistic missile strike was Russia's deadliest attack on civilians this year
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson
-
The fight for control of Ukraine's nuclear reactors
The Explainer How serious is Donald Trump about US ownership of Kyiv's nuclear power plants?
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
How Poland became Europe's military power
The Explainer Warsaw has made its armed forces a priority as it looks to protect its borders and stay close to the US
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK