Ukrainian soldiers battling Russian tanks at Lugansk: Army

KIEV - Agence France-Presse

A tank with a flag of Novorossia (union of Donetsk people's republic and Lugansk people's republic) drives in central Donetsk late on Aug. 23. AP Photo

Ukrainian troops on Sept. 1 were battling a Russian tank contingent in the eastern city of Lugansk, Kiev said, accusing Moscow's army units of moving into large cities in the region."The battle between Ukrainian paratroopers and a reinforced tank battalion of the Russian armed forces is continuing with the goal of controlling the Lugansk airfield," military spokesman Leonid Matyukhin wrote on his Facebook page.Ukraine's Defense Minister Valeriy Geletey further said that Russian units are moving into other towns in the region, including the largest city of the region Donetsk."The information that Russian troops are there has been confirmed," he said. "We are fighting Russia and it is Russia which is deciding what will happen in Donbass," he told Ukraine's Inter channel late Sunday, referring to the informal name of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions."We are holding talks not with terrorists but with representatives of the Kremlin," he added.Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine have in recent days seized large swathes of territory, with Kiev saying the offensive has been reinforced with a larger than ever influx of Russian weaponry and troops. NATO accused Moscow of sending 1,000 regular troops across the border, a large part of which is no longer controlled by Kiev.Moscow has denied sending soldiers into Ukraine, saying paratroopers detained by Kiev about 20 kilometres from the Russian border got there by accident.Fighting between Kiev's army and the insurgency has killed over 2,600 people since mid-April.