The Russia-Ukraine conflict seemed to enter a new stage Friday when Russian military forces crossed into Ukrainian territory.
FOX BUSINESS: "There are reports of a military engagement, Ukraine and Russia."
​Ukraine and NATO claimed Ukraine had attacked 23 Russian APCs, or armored personnel carriers, presumably carrying troops into Ukraine.
AL JAZEERA: "Ukrainian artillery had fired on a column of Russian vehicles, and part of it no longer exists."
According to the Ukrainian government, "The vehicles were painted white to camouflage the operation as a peacekeeping mission."
And The New York Times reports the secretary general of NATO called it "a continuation of what we have seen for some time."
But Russia issued a flat denial that its military was in Ukraine.
The Russian Security Service told RT Friday Russian forces "operate strictly within the territory of the Russian Federation."
True or not, the allegation of an incursion comes at a crucial time: 280 Russian trucks are sitting idle near the border, promising to deliver humanitarian relief to war-torn Eastern Ukraine.
The region, which includes the rebel strongholds of Donetsk and Luhansk, has been without power and water for weeks.
But Ukraine and allies such as the U.S. have likened the aid mission to either a Trojan Horse or a "pretext for invasion."
VIA EURONEWS: "The 280-vehicle cavalcade is the subject of a major diplomatic row with the West and Ukraine fearing it as an opening salvo in a potential invasion."
Currently the trucks are undergoing Ukrainian inspection about 20 miles from the border. (Video via Fox News)
VIA CNN: "A team of 60 inspectors from Ukraine crossed the border into Russia into the Rostov region. They inspected the contents of that convoy. "
And what are the inspectors finding? Well, no weapons or Russian troops, but not a lot of aid, either. (Video via Press TV)
VIA BBC: "The one thing that strikes me about these vehicles is how empty they are. Look, there are some boxes there. Again, I don't know what they are. But this lorry is almost empty."
So what's the point of sending 280 mostly empty trucks into rebel-controlled Ukrainian territory? No one really knows, but it will make it even harder for Ukraine to trust in the goodwill of the Russian state.
