Russia is a 'threat to global democracy', Ukrainian president tells US Congress
Ukrainian leader addresses US Congress as Kiev officials say Russian troops are preparing attack
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko yesterday told the US Congress that Russia was a threat to global democracy, as officials in Kiev said Russia had deployed about 5,000 soldiers in eastern Ukraine to back separatist rebels.
Russian forces and about 15,000 rebels in Ukraine's east are readying for an offensive, Oleksandr Danylyuk, an aide to the Ukrainian defence minister, said. He said about 50,000 Russian troops were massed on Ukraine's border. The Ukrainian government also said 4,000 Russian troops were massing on the border of Russian-annexed Crimea and Ukraine.
The allegation came as it was announced that a new round of talks aimed at finding a lasting solution to the Ukraine crisis would take place in the Belarussian capital Minsk today at a meeting of the Contact Group that includes representatives of Russia, Ukraine, separatists and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Poroshenko told US lawmakers in Washington: "I urge you not to let Ukraine stand alone. It is very simple: democracies must support each other."
Poroshenko said Russia's next step would be crossing the border into Europe.
Ukrainian defence spokesman Andriy Lysenko said the Russian units were deployed in "small tactical groups" along the border in Crimea, the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed in March.