Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday that his crisis-torn country was fighting a “real war” with Russia that could escalate at any time.
The pro-western leader said the weekend capture of two purported Russian special service soldiers proved that the separatist uprising in the industrial east of Ukraine was a guise for a Moscow-orchestrated campaigned aimed at breaking up Ukraine, AFP reported.
“Can I be absolutely clear with you this is not a fight with Russian-backed separatists, this is a real war with Russia,” the 49-year-old Ukrainian leader said in an interview with BBC.
Ukraine’s military on Tuesday showed off two men it claims to be Russians taken prisoner during a firefight in Lugansk.
It says Russian troops are fighting alongside pro-Moscow separatists, an accusation Russia has repeatedly denied.
The UN believes that the entire conflict has claimed at least 6,250 lives and driven more than a million people from their homes.
A second truce agreement Poroshenko struck with Russian President Vladimir Putin with the help of the leaders of Germany and France in February has thus far failed to take complete hold.
Meanwhile, the Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said Wednesday that the intensification of US and NATO offensive potential near the Russian border creates threats not only to Russia, but also to its allies.
“US and NATO aggressiveness toward Russia is growing, and their offensive potential right on the Russian border is growing, which is creating threats not only to us, but to our allies,” Patrushev said after a meeting earlier in the day in Tajikistan.
