1,000 Russian troops enter Ukraine, seize coastal town

A large number of Russian troops has crossed the border into Ukraine and seized control of a coastal town where the Ukrainian Army recently destroyed a column of tanks and armored vehicles.

Reuters reports that more 1,000 soldiers have entered Ukraine from Russia. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has decided to cancel a pre-scheduled trip to Turkey and convene a meeting of his Security Council in response to the sudden escalation of force by Russia.

A NATO official told Reuters they were coordinating their actions with pro-Russian separatists already in eastern Ukraine. The Russian soldiers are even mixing in with and fighting alongside separatist forces.

Moscow has continued to deny involvement in eastern Ukraine, either in the form of manpower or the provision of military supplies. When Ukraine released images of 10 Russian soldiers captured in Ukrainian territory, Russia responded that it was an honest mistake. Russia contended they had crossed the border accidentally while out on a training mission.

The Russian forces seized control of the coastal town of Novoazovsk, which is adjacent to the Russian border. A rebel leader told Reuters the goal was to eventually reach the port city of Mariupol further into Ukraine's interior.

Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from Novoazovsk so that they can reinforce the defenses in the Mariupol. The city's port and rail connections make it strategically important because they can facilitate the movement of men and war material throughout the rest of eastern Ukraine.  

The blatant presence of more Russian troops and weapons in Ukraine suggests that economic sanctions the international community have leveled against Russia will intensify and spread into new realms of economic activity.

The previous rounds of sanctions have focused primarily on the oil, defense, and financial sectors of the Russian economy. The sanctions have also targeted specific Russian lawmakers and individuals the international community has deemed as crucial to Russian involvement in Ukraine.

Russia has responded to these sanctions by instituting bans on any and all agricultural products that come from countries that have sanctioned Russia.