Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko warned parliament in Kiev that they face a “colossal threat” of “full-scale invasion” from Russia after escalating violence in eastern Ukraine killed at least 24 people Tuesday, according to a report from the BBC.
Poroshenko claims 9,000 Russian troops are deployed inside his country. The Associated Press and Kiev Post had similar reports.
He told the parliament, “There remains a colossal threat of resumption of large-scale fighting on the part of Russian terrorist groups.”
“Ukraine’s military should be ready for a new offensive by the enemy, as well as a full-scale invasion along the entire border with the Russian Federation,” he said, according to the BBC. “We must be really prepared for this.”
Clashes with Russian-backed separatists involving tanks and heavy weapons in violation of the Minsk ceasefire took place in two areas west of Donetsk Wednesday, and the Ukrainian general command confirmed that 200 separatist militants fired on Ukrainian positions for six hours.
Poroshenko said that he has 50,000 troops in the east ready to defend the Ukraine and that the Kremlin’s “plan to sow separatism in south-eastern Ukraine” has failed and only persists in two regions because of “Russian bayonets.”
This is the worst outbreak of violence since February’s Minsk ceasefire was signed.
Over 6,400 people have been killed since the conflict began in April 2014. Following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, rebels seized large parts of the two eastern regions in the Ukraine. Russia denies sending troops to aid these rebels, instead calling these soldiers “volunteers.”
However, a report Monday by senior U.N. human rights officials found increasing evidence of Russian involvement in the Ukraine war.
The U.S. State Department warned Wednesday that “Russia bears direct responsibility in preventing these attacks and implementing a ceasefire. Any attempts to seize additional Ukrainian territory will be met with increased costs.”
