Russian ambassador summoned by UK government

LONDON (AA) – Britain has summoned the Russian ambassador to explain reports of Russian military vehicles crossing the border into Ukraine. Ambassador Alexander Vladimirovich Yakovenko was summoned to the Foreign Office on Friday, where he met Acting Permanent Under-Secretary Matthew Rycroft. In a statement, the Foreign Office said any Russian military incursion into Ukraine would be an “unacceptable violation of international law and of Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty.”
Rycroft reiterated Britain’s aim to bring an end to the crisis in eastern Ukraine and said similar Russian efforts would be welcomed.  The summoning of an ambassador to explain his country’s actions is a public display of diplomatic disapproval by a host nation. Ukraine claimed it destroyed part of an armored column that crossed the border on Thursday while Russia dismissed claims of an incursion as “fantasy.”
Earlier on Friday, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond called for Russia to withdraw any military personnel in eastern Ukraine and to stop its support for armed separatists. Meanwhile, a convoy of Russian vehicles carrying humanitarian aid arrived at the Ukrainian border on Friday morning and were inspected by Ukrainian border guards.