Ukraine's fragile ceasefire nearing collapse as rebels pound government positions

Russian forces clearly part of invasion forces

The abundance of evidence that Russia is covertly and overtly assisting Ukrainian rebels in their fight against Kiev continues to grow, and now the commander of U.S. forces in Europe said that there is "clear and irrefutable evidence" that Russia is actively involved.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Lt. General Ben Hodges made comments on Wednesday during a closed session at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), that Moscow has been deliberately aiding Russian separatists.

"Russia is actively and massively fueling this conflict," he told the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.

After the event Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said that the four nations had agreed "not to allow a breakdown" of the cease fire agreement that had been reached earlier this year in February.

"There is a sense that there are powers who would like to destroy this process," he told reporters in Paris. "I won't name them. But such forces exist."

Lt. General Hodges cited several reports that had come in from OSCE monitors who had witnessed over 500 explosions over the last weekend. This information, in conjunction with reports that Russian soldiers were taking selfies in Ukraine and posting them online, and that rebels had disregarded the ceasefires ban on heavy weapons near the conflict zones, paint a picture of a fragile peace that is about to go up in flames.

Hodges said that these explosions were "not something that you can put together in the basement of your home," neither "could this amount of explosive power be applied without a sophisticated supply chain," and the soldiers and officers who are trained in the weapons' use.

He also pointed to the advanced equipment found in the fighting which Ukraine does not possess and that rebels could only have gotten from Russia, such as tanks, air defense and rocket systems and advanced communication vehicles.

"Russian soldiers are active parts of the fighting force," he said. "These are not volunteers or mercenaries; they are trained, equipped, and uniformed active duty Russian soldiers."

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