Russia Calls on PACE to Provide Evidence of Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine

There is not a single Russian who has invaded Ukraine, Russian delegate to PACE said Tuesday.

STRASBOURG, January 27 (Sputnik) – Russia has called on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to provide proof that Russia has troops in Ukraine, Russia’s PACE delegate Alexei Pushkov said Tuesday.

“There is not a single Russian who has invaded Ukraine and we need proof of the existence of Russian armed forces [there]. We have seen no proof,” Pushkov said during a PACE discussion on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

Last week, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council claimed that two battalion tactical groups from the Russian Armed Forces had apparently crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border.

However, the US State Department was unable to confirm these allegations. According to OSCE observers based at two border crossing points at the Russian-Ukrainian border, there had been no movement of military equipment over the border.

The plenary sitting for Russia's credentials is expected to be held Wednesday evening.

PACE's five-day winter session began Monday. The event's agenda includes the crisis in Ukraine

Since the start of the government forces' military assault on eastern Ukraine's independence supporters in April 2014, Kiev and the West have repeatedly accused Russia of intervening in the Ukrainian crisis. The accusations went as far as to claim that Moscow sent troops and weapons to help the independence militias.

However, the Kremlin has dismissed the claims as not corroborated by any evidence.