Poroshenko: Ukraine 'close to point of no return'
30 August 2014 Last updated at 19:19
Ukraine's president has said his country is "close
to a point of no return - full scale-war".
Petro Poroshenko was speaking in Brussels,
where he said a meeting of EU leaders had agreed
to prepare more sanctions against Russia.
Outgoing EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton
earlier accused Russia of "direct aggression" in
east Ukraine.
Russia denies that its forces are backing rebels,
who have been gaining ground on Ukrainian
forces.
Mr Poroshenko said Ukraine was a victim of
"military aggression and terror".
He said: "I think that we are very close to the
point of no return. Point of no return is full-scale
war.
"Any offensive action which would be undertaken
[by Russia]... would be a point of no return. And
that's why we undertake enormous efforts to stop
that."
Mr Poroshenko said that new EU sanctions
against Russia would be prepared and would be
implemented depending on the success of a
proposed peace plan.
He said: "Based on my proposals, which were
supported by the majority of the member states,
there are possible sanctions that would be
implemented."
He said he hoped to publish a draft of his peace
plan next week.
Mr Poroshenko also said that he would discuss
the possibility of a ceasefire at a meeting in
Belarus on Monday of the Contact Group, which
includes Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE).
The EU and the US have already imposed
sanctions against dozens of senior Russian
officials, separatist commanders and Russian
firms accused of undermining Ukrainian
sovereignty.
Residents flee fighting in Mariupol in the south-
east
Baroness Ashton said there was "deep concern"
over "direct aggression by Russian forces". She
called on Russia to stop the flow of arms,
equipment and personnel into Ukraine.
As she arrived at the talks in Brussels, Lithuanian
President Dalia Grybauskaite said Russia was
"practically in a war against Europe".
She said: "We need to support Ukraine, and send
military materials to help Ukraine defend itself.
Today Ukraine is fighting a war on behalf of all
Europe."
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the EU
faced "a completely unacceptable situation of
having Russian troops on Ukrainian soil.
Consequences must follow if that situation
continues".
Ukrainian military vehicles evacuate from
Starobesheve
French President Francois Hollande said the
Ukraine crisis was the biggest since the end of
the Cold War.
He said: "What's happening in Ukraine is so
serious that the European Council will be obliged
to react by increasing the level of sanctions if
things remain as they are."
However, the BBC's Chris Morris in Brussels says
there are still divisions within the EU on how to
deal with the Ukraine situation.
Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said the
"jury is still out" on whether sanctions had
worked, adding: "We need to find a ceasefire, a
peace plan."
Federica Mogherini, named on Saturday as
Catherine Ashton's successor, said there could be
no military solution to the crisis and that while
sanctions were being worked on, the diplomatic
process would need to continue.
'Ordered to retreat'
Government forces have lost ground in recent
fighting.
A Ukrainian military spokesman said on Saturday
that Russian tanks had attacked the town of
Novosvitlivka near Luhansk and "destroyed
virtually every house".
Spokesman Andriy Lysenko said troops had been
ordered to retreat from Novosvitlivka.
Troops are also reportedly trying to evacuate
Ilovaisk in the Donetsk region. It has been
surrounded by rebels.
Rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko told the
Russian News Service radio station a new
offensive was being planned to create a corridor
between Donetsk and Luhansk.
In south-eastern Ukraine, people have been
leaving the port city of Mariupol, after advancing
rebels captured Novoazovsk to the east.
Western and Ukrainian officials say this offensive
has been substantially helped by Russian regular
troops, opening a new front. Russia denies the
accusation.
Some 2,600 people have died in fighting in the
Donetsk and Luhansk regions since April.
The conflict erupted following Russia's annexation
of Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula a month
before.
War in eastern Ukraine: The human cost
At least 2,593 people killed since mid-April (not
including 298 passengers and crew of
Malaysian Airlines MH17, shot down in the
area) - UN report on 29 August
951 civilians killed in Donetsk region alone,
official regional authorities said - 20 August
In some particularly dangerous places, such as
Luhansk region, victims are said to have been
buried informally, making accurate counts
difficult
Rebels (and some military sources) accuse the
government of concealing true numbers
155,800 people have fled elsewhere in Ukraine
while at least 188,000 have gone to Russia

http://m.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28997946

European Union themselves knew this would happen. It was only a matter of time, and here we are. The conflict in Ukraine is the result remnants of former USSR empire legacies. Close to half of Ukrainians are made up of Russians. Majority of them are still attached to their mother country. Many of them still not happy with the collapsed of the Soviet Union.
East European states of former USSR should be watched closely.

When would there be world peace?

Dreal1247: When would there be world peace?

Is world peace a commodity to be bought on a market shelf?