He was speaking in parliament a day after Ukrainian forces fought their most serious battle for months with Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country, endangering an already shaky ceasefire.
"The military must be ready as much for a renewal of an offensive by the enemy in the Donbass as they are for a full-scale invasion along the whole length of the border with Russia. We must be truly ready for this," he said.
Poroshenko's warning came as fresh clashes erupted near the rebel stronghold of Donetsk on Wednesday, reviving fears in Kiev that the separatists may be gearing up for a new push into government-controlled territory, four months after agreeing to a truce.
"There remains a colossal threat of resumption of large-scale fighting on the part of Russian terrorist groups," Poroshenko said in his annual address to parliament, referring to the insurgents.
The EU has expressed alarm over the escalation, calling it "the most serious violation" yet of the February ceasefire.
Russia has accused Kiev of seeking to torpedo the truce ahead of an EU summit in June which will discuss whether to extend sanctions against Russia set to expire in July.
"No doubt these provocations are being organised by the Ukrainian army," Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "We are seriously worried by this indeed."
The hot-button issue of Russian sanctions is also expected to come up at a Group of Seven summit in Germany this weekend.
The United States, which has also hit Moscow with stinging sanctions, said it was disturbed by the new clashes, warning that if the crisis escalated Moscow would face punishment.
Major clashes erupt in Maryinka
The army on Wednesday accused pro-Russian forces of launching a large-scale attack on the settlement of Maryinka, just west of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, in breach of the four-month-old truce brokered by the West.
Kiev authorities said that five soldiers had been killed and 39 wounded in the latest upsurge in fighting.
A senior separatist commander, Eduard Basurin, told AFP that 14 rebels and five civilians had died over the past 24 hours.
An estimated 24 civilians and 86 rebels had also been wounded, he told reporters.
The fighting had died down on Wednesday afternoon and authorities said on Thursday they were clearing mines and unexploded shells.
"It's quiet in Maryinka now," a Ukrainian military spokesman, Olexandr Paranyuk, told AFP.
Separatist forces denied that they had gone on the offensive, saying they had reacted to defend their people from a "genocide."
'Constant threat' to peace deal
Speaking in Moscow on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the peace deal faced a "constant threat" from the Ukrainian authorities.
"The February 12 Minsk agreements are under constant threat of breaking down because of the actions of the Kiev authorities who are trying to avoid fulfilling their obligations to establish direct dialogue with the Donbass," Lavrov said, referring to the rebel-controlled territory.
The Kremlin on Wednesday accused the Ukrainian army -- which admitted Wednesday to using heavy artillery against the rebels -- of "provocative actions."
Russia denies that it is behind the fighting in Ukraine that has killed 6,400 people since April 2014.
Kiev and the West accuse Moscow of backing the Russian-speaking rebels with weapons, money and troops.
Moscow has denied the claims despite mounting evidence to the contrary, including secret funerals of Russian soldiers.
The United States said on Wednesday it was disturbed by the reports of new clashes, warning Moscow of consequences if the Ukraine crisis escalated.
"Any attempts to seize additional Ukrainian territory will be met with increased cost," said State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf.
The renewed violence caused the Russian ruble to tumble, losing about 3 percent of its value against the dollar and the euro, its lowest level in two months.
February's ceasefire was agreed by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany after negotiations in the Belarussian capital Minsk.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)
[france24.com]
4/6/15
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Ukraine's Poroshenko warns of Russian invasion threat after fighting surge...
ReplyDeleteUkraine's president told his military on Thursday to be prepared for the possibility of a "full-scale invasion" by Russia across the entire length of the joint border, a day after the worst fighting with Russian-backed separatists in months.
His address in parliament was one of the first times Petro Poroshenko has used the word "invasion" to refer to Russia's behaviour since the start of a separatist rebellion in the east in which the United Nations says more than 6,400 people have been killed.
Referring to a 12-hour firefight involving artillery on both sides on Wednesday when Ukraine says the rebels tried to take the town of Maryinka, Poroshenko said: "There is a colossal threat of a renewal of large-scale military operations from the side of the Russian-terrorist groups."
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"The military must be ready as much for a renewal of an offensive by the enemy in the Donbass as they are for a full-scale invasion along the whole length of the border with Russia. We must be truly ready for this."...........reuters.com
4/6/15
OSCE says calm restored around east Ukraine’s Maryinka...
ReplyDeleteInternational observers monitoring the ceasefire in Ukraine reported on Thursday that the situation around the town of Maryinka, west of Donetsk, had stabilised towards Wednesday evening.
Speaking at a news briefing in Kiev, Michael Bociurkiw, a spokesman for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring mission, said that calm around the town, where fighting erupted on Wednesday morning, had been restored by early evening.
He said OSCE observers continued to monitor developments around Donetsk airport and the settlement of Shirokino, where continuous ceasefire violations had been observed. He noted, however, that the mission did not visit the area for security reasons.
The battle between Ukrainian government forces and people’s militias surged on Wednesday in Maryinka, killing at least 15 people.....TASS
4/6/15
NATO said on Thursday Russia was delivering sophisticated weaponry to rebels in eastern Ukraine, renewing long-standing accusations amid the worst upsurge in fighting in months between the Kiev government's forces and pro-Russian rebels...
ReplyDeleteEarlier, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko told his military to be prepared for the possibility of a "full-scale invasion" by Russia across the entire length of the joint border.
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"We have precise information that Russia is present in eastern Ukraine and that it has delivered large quantities of heavy, advanced weapons to the separatists," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Oslo.
"Artillery, anti-aircraft systems, advanced weapons systems. They have supplied more than 1,000 units of this kind to the separatists."..........http://www.todayonline.com/world/russia-must-act-reduce-east-ukraine-tension-natos-stoltenberg
4/6/15
ΟΗΕ: Κατεπείγουσα σύγκληση του Συμβ. Ασφαλείας για την Ουκρανία...
ReplyDeleteΤο Συμβούλιο Ασφαλείας του Οργανισμού Ηνωμένων Εθνών θα πραγματοποιήσει έκτακτη σύνοδο αύριο για να συζητήσει την αναζωπύρωση της βίας στην ανατολική Ουκρανία, η οποία απειλεί την εκεχειρία που είχε συμφωνηθεί κατόπιν των πιέσεων που άσκησε η Ευρώπη και εφαρμόζεται τους τελευταίους τέσσερις μήνες.
Τη σύγκληση του ΣΑ του ΟΗΕ ζήτησε η Λιθουανία, μετά τη δήλωση του Ουκρανού προέδρου Πέτρο Ποροσένκο ότι στο έδαφος της ανατολικής Ουκρανίας έχουν αναπτυχθεί πάνω από 9.000 Ρώσοι στρατιώτες.
Το Κίεβο προειδοποίησε εναντίον της “γιγάντιας” απειλής να ξαναρχίσουν επιθέσεις από τους αυτονομιστές την επομένη της ανάφλεξης της βίας στην ανατολική Ουκρανία με τουλάχιστον 26 νεκρούς, ενώ η Ρωσία από τη δική της πλευρά υπογράμμισε πως η ειρηνευτική διαδικασία υπάρχει κίνδυνος να “καταρρεύσει”.
Τα χθεσινά επεισόδια ήταν τα πιο σοβαρά αφότου τέθηκε σε ισχύ η κατάπαυση του πυρός που προέβλεπαν οι συμφωνίες του Μινσκ.
Η αυριανή σύνοδος προβλέπεται να αρχίσει στις 16:30 (ώρα Ελλάδας), διευκρίνισε Λιθουανός διπλωμάτης.
kathimerini.com.cy
4/6/15