Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has said that columns with military equipment are coming from the Russian Federation through checkpoints on the eastern border of Ukraine that were seized by illegal armed groups.

"Intelligence and surveillance data show that despite the statements of the Russian Federation that they welcome the peace process, and that they ordered a stepping up of border checks, over the past three days columns have been finding their way into Ukraine through checkpoints seized by terrorists, in particular in the area of Diakove," Avakov said at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.