The lightning advance took place in an area tens of miles from territory previously held by the rebels, suggesting that the troops originated at least in part from the Russian side of the border.
Combined with a series of other defeats and the capture of Russian soldiers inside Ukraine on Tuesday, it increased speculation that – despite official denials – Russian regular forces have now entered the war alongside the separatists.
Kiev claimed that a vast column of "up to 100" tanks and heavy weaponsfrom Russia was later spotted moving towards Temanove, a government-held town 20 miles to the north of Novoazovsk.
"We believe that this is Russian equipment. You cannot buy 100 tanks at a market in Donetsk or Luhansk," a Ukrainian army source told AFP in reference to the column.
Earlier on Wednesday Vladimir Putin said that Russia would do "everything to support the peace process" in Ukraine.
Speaking in Minsk after late-night face-to-face talks with Petro Poroshenko, the president of Ukraine, Mr Putin denied any Russian involvement in the fighting and promised to "do everything" to bring the conflict to a peaceful conclusion.
"Frankly speaking, we cannot discuss any conditions for a ceasefire or possible agreements between Kiev, Donetsk and Lugansk. This is not our business; it is a domestic matter of Ukraine itself," he said in remarks carried on the Kremlin website.
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