Leaders race to broker Ukraine deal as conflict takes centre stage at summit

Diplomats and politicians raced yesterday to devise a strategy for halting the fierce combat and mounting civilian casualties in eastern Ukraine, with the focus on how best to get Russia to pull back its troops and heavy weaponry.

The crisis in eastern Ukraine, where government forces were under siege from separatists supported and equipped by Moscow, dominated the Munich Security Conference.

As Russian fighters, said by Kiev to number in the thousands, were deployed to support and in some cases lead separatist brigades, officials in Munich were engaged in a frantic round of meetings trying to figure out how to prevent and reverse a major escalation in the war.

Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko brandished several passports taken from Russian soldiers in what he said was proof of Moscow's "presence" in his country.

"I take with me the passports and military ID of Russian soldiers, Russian officers who come to us," Poroshenko said, dramatically waving two handfuls of documents. "This is the best evidence for the aggression and for the presence of Russian troops."

Officially, Russia continues to deny sending its soldiers onto Ukrainian territory. But evidence from Western satellites and eyewitnesses suggests otherwise.