KIEV: Ukraine and the West said Thursday that Russian troops were actively involved in the fighting tearing apart the east of the country, raising fears of a direct military confrontation between Kiev and its former Soviet master.
US President Barack Obama led a chorus of growing international condemnation over the escalating crisis, saying it was "plain for the world to see" that Russian forces were fighting in Ukraine, despite more repeated denials by Moscow.
Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Russia's actions "cannot remain without consequences" as the US and Europe raised the prospect of fresh sanctions against Russia.
"Russia has deliberately and repeatedly violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and the new images of Russian forces inside Ukraine make that plain for the world to see," Obama said, ratcheting up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"This ongoing Russian incursion into Ukraine will only bring more costs and consequences for Russia."
NATO said at least 1,000 Russian troops were on the ground supporting pro-Kremlin separatists who have been fighting against Kiev's rule since April.
The United States and the European Union have already imposed a series of punishing sanctions on Moscow over the crisis, the worst standoff between Russia and the West since the Cold War.
Merkel said European leaders would discuss possible new measures against Moscow at a summit in Brussels on Saturday.
On a day of fast-moving developments, US envoy Samantha Power, at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York, demanded in blunt terms that Russia "stop lying".
"The mask is coming off," she thundered.
"We see Russia's actions for what they are: a deliberate effort to support and now fight alongside illegal separatists in another sovereign country."
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko described the situation as "extremely difficult" but "manageable for us not to panic", as security chiefs announced that mandatory army conscription would resume in the autumn.
US officials have accused Russian troops of being behind a lightning counter-offensive that has seen pro-Moscow rebels seize swathes of territory from Ukrainian government forces, dramatically turning the tide in the four-month conflict.
Kiev said Russian soldiers had seized control of a key southeastern border town and a string of villages in an area where fighting had been raging for days.
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