KIEV, Ukraine (AP) ? A column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles entered southeastern Ukraine around dawn Monday, a Ukrainian official said ? a move that brings the conflict to an area that has so far escaped the intense fighting of recent weeks.
The reported incursion came a day ahead of a summit that includes both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and could be aimed at pressuring Ukraine into seeking a negotiated end to the conflict rather than a military victory.
Over the past month, Ukrainian forces have made substantial inroads against pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine, taking control of several sizeable towns and cities that had been under rebel control since April, when the clashes began.
But the advances have come at a high cost ? more than 2,000 civilians reportedly killed and at least 726 Ukrainian servicemen. There is no independent figure for the number of rebel dead, although Ukrainian authorities said Monday that 250 rebels were in fighting around Olenivka, a town 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of Donetsk.
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