Sky News has filmed well-armed, well-equipped troops, who appear to be wearing recent issue Russian combat gear, operating alongside rebel forces in south-eastern Ukraine.
The men were travelling in a small convoy, which included an armoured personnel carrier and two machine gunners mounted on pick-up trucks.
The vehicles were marked with the white painted circles that signal allegiance to the separatists, but all other insignia and number plates had been removed.
We saw them being waved through a rebel-controlled checkpoint outside the town of Novoazovsk as one of the guards said: "These are ours."
Russian military expert Mark Galeotti examined the Sky News images and noted the white ribbons on the lead jeep and white armbands, which he said Russian security forces often use to distinguish their men.
