DHAKA: Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday that photographs from Crimea of military vehicles with Russian number plates and video of an armed man claiming he is Russian were a ‘provocation’ and ‘nonsense’.

Shoigu was responding to questions about photographs taken in Crimea that apparently show off-road vehicles used by the Russian army with Russian number plates, and also video of one of the armed men patrolling a Ukrainian military base near the Russian border, who claimed ‘We are Russian citizens’.

‘Of course this is a provocation,’ Shoigu said of photographs showing vehicles with Russian number plates, cited by ITAR-TASS news agency, reports The Straits Times.

Asked about videos showing armed forces identifying themselves as Russian, he said curtly, ‘No, of course not, complete nonsense’.

Asked how forces described by Russia as local self defence groups could have Lynx and Tiger vehicles of the type used by the Russian army, Shoigu said, ‘I have no idea’.

UkrStream.tv, a Ukrainian news website, published a video on YouTube on Tuesday featuring a man in camouflage and a helmet speaking Russian.

BDST: 2033 HRS, MAR 05, 2014