LATEST from our news desk:
Kyiv has said a call by Russian President Vladimir Putin for a "humanitarian corridor" to allow Ukrainian troops encircled in the east to withdraw proves Moscow's hand in the conflict.
In a statement, Ukraine's military said on August 29 that Putin's statement testified to only one thing -- "[the separatists] are led and controlled directly from the Kremlin."
Putin urged rebels in what he termed "Novorossia" to open corridors to allow trapped Ukrainian troops to withdraw safely.
NATO ambassadors are holding an emergency meeting on August 29 in Brussels to discuss the Ukraine crisis, a day after the United States blamed the conflict squarely on Russia, saying it has "outright lied" about its role.
NATO say at least 1,000 Russian troops are operating in Ukraine and released satellite photos that it says show Russian artillery units in the country.
Russia's Defense Ministry dismissed the photos. (Reuters and AP)
Economic warning signs increase for Moscow:
Ukraine's UNIAN news agency reporting that witnesses say Russian columns of military equipment entering Luhansk: