Ukraine has condemned Russia's decision to move a long convoy of what it calls humanitarian aid across the border into Ukraine - without Kiev's permission, and with no Red Cross escort. 

Moscow unilaterally decided to order the convoy across into Ukraine, and it did so unhampered. Pro-Russian rebels were in control of the checkpoints and customs control areas the convoy went through before reacing the outskirts of the city of Luhansk in rebel-controlled territory. 

Like Us on Facebook

Ukrainian sources said about 130 trucks painted white crossed into Ukraine until Friday afternoon.

Kiev immediately called the Russian action as a "direct invasion" aimed at provoking an international incident. The United States, meanwhile, demanded of Russia to pull the convoy out of Ukraine immediately, or face consequences.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk declared that the half-empty trucks Russia sent were not going to deliver aid but would be used to create a provocation. He also floated the possibility of Russia staging a bogus attack on the convoy itself, in order to attract further attention.

NATO also reacted sharply to Russia's unilateral decision to send the convoy across the border. NATO's secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen called it "a blatant breach of Russia's international commitments" and "a further violation of Ukraine's sovereignty." 

Earlier Friday, NATO revealed that Russian artillery have entered Ukrainian territory in recent days, and are now being manned by Russian troops and are targetting Ukraine government positions. This is the first time that NATO has said it had evidence about actual and active Russian involvement in the ongoing conflict between Ukrainian military forces, and rebel factions that are openly pro-Russian.

Ukrainian security services chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko  said the men driving the trucks were Russian military personnel trained to drive combat vehicles, tanks, and mobile artillery. The security chief said he suspects the half-empty trucks may have been carrying fresh supplies for the pro-Russian rebels in cities near the border, and could be used to carry the bodies of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine back to Moscow.

Reporters shadowing the convoy revealed that most of the trucks were half-empty, and the contents rattled when the convoy passed through rough road on the way to Luhanks.

The White House and the Pentagon both released statements Friday condemning Russia's provocative steps, and demanded that Russia remove the convoy from Ukraine, or face consequences.