Nemtsov report 'proves' Russian army presence in Ukraine

MOSCOW: Allies of murdered Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov on Tuesday unveiled a report based on research he collected that they claimed proved Russian military involvement in Ukraine.
"We gathered what we think is comprehensive proof of the presence of Russian troops," said Ilya Yashin, one of the authors of the report entitled "Putin. War".
"All key military successes of the separatists were ensured by regular Russian army contingents," Yashin said of the conflict between Kiev's forces and separatists in eastern Ukraine, which has resulted in over 6,100 deaths since last April.
Nemtsov — a former deputy prime minister who became a fierce Kremlin critic — had started work on the report before he was gunned down just yards from the Kremlin in late February.
The 65-page report said the Russian army made two major incursions into Ukrainian territory in the summer of 2014 and in the winter of 2015. Both turned the tables in the conflict and came ahead of negotiations on the conflict.
The first deployment of the regular Russian army to eastern Ukraine resulted in the deaths of soldiers, with "more than 150 coffins" returning to Russia, while in the winter "at least 70 troops died," said Yashin.
Moscow further backed the recruitment of volunteers through army offices and oversaw the "transfer of military equipment" across the border, including the surface-to-air Buk system that was used to shoot down the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17 over the Donetsk region in July last year, he said.
Russian authorities have fiercely denied accusations from Kiev and the West that they are backing the separatist rebellion in Ukraine.
The Kremlin refused to comment on the claims, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling Russian news agencies: "I am not familiar with the report so I have nothing to say."
Nemtsov's colleagues believe the Kremlin is implicated in his brazen killing as all opposition figures are closely watched and often followed, while the bridge where he was shot is heavily monitored by police.
The Kremlin has denied any involvement and five men from Russia's volatile North Caucasus region have been arrested on charges of carrying out the hit.
Nemtsov's former colleague and friend, ex-prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, said Nemtsov wanted to compile the report to offer an alternative source of information to Russians who are overwhelmingly dependent on state television.
"It is a document for Russian citizens to be able to compare information and understand what is happening," he said. "Propaganda ... is not letting citizens make their own conclusions." – AFP