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NOVOKATERYNIVKA, Ukraine (AP) The Ukrainian solders were an easy target as they launched a desperate run to safety. Pounded by a gauntlet of rocket shells, blown up in their vehicles, they died by the dozens.

In fields around the eastern Ukrainian village of Novokaterynivka, more than thirty army vehicles lay charred and pulverized into twisted piles of metal Tuesday the result of a devastating weekend ambush by separatist forces.

The rout marked a major intensification in the separatists' offensive in eastern Ukraine one that the government in Kiev, NATO and the United States say has been sustained by Russia's direct military support.

A detainee held by Pro-Russian rebels lays bound meters away from a column of destroyed Ukranian military vehicles in the village of Novokaterynivka, eastern Ukraine, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014. Ukrainian troops have over the past week suffered a string of major military losses in their offensive against Russian-backed separatist rebels, losing large swathes of territory and having hundreds of soldiers captured. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) (Sergei Grits/AP)

Moscow's aggressive stance toward Ukraine has come in both words and deeds of late, fueled by attacks like those in Novokaterynivka as well as a leaked report that EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Vladimir Putin told him that Russia could take over Kiev "in two weeks" if it wished.

The separatists, after having a month of setbacks in which government troops regained territory, have been inordinately successful in the last 10 days just as columns of Russian tanks and armored vehicles have been seen crossing the border. President Barack Obama and other NATO leaders will be attending a summit in Wales on Thursday to create a rapid-response military team to counter the Russian threat.

Yuri Ushakov, Putin's foreign policy adviser, told reporters that the Russian leader's statement on Kiev was "taken out of context and carried a completely different meaning."

Yet on the ground, the results of much deadlier weapons of war could not be denied.

The smashed tanks, APCs and trucks were part of a massive column fleeing Saturday night after being encircled in the town of Ilovaisk, which the government was compelled to concede after weeks of bitter battles. Judging by how close together the stricken vehicles were, the incoming fire was precise and extremely intense.

Pro-Russian rebels pass by destroyed Ukrainian military vehicles near the village of Novokaterynivka, eastern Ukraine, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014. Ukrainian troops have over the past week suffered a string of major military losses in their offensive against Russian-backed separatist rebels, losing large swathes of territory and having hundreds of soldiers captured. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) (Sergei Grits/AP)

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Ukraine: Russian forces in major rebel cities