Are there Russian troops in Ukraine?

Ukrainian President Poroshenko believes that Ukraine must urgently initiate the meeting of the UN Security Council. "The world needs to assess the aggravation of the situation in Ukraine," he said.

According to the Ukrainian president, Kiev will also appeal to its European partners to convene an emergency meeting of the Council of the European Union.

The above statements were made after recent victories of the militia army of Novorossia (New Russia), or People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.

The topics of "counteroffensive" of the militia and Russia's "invasion" to support the militia forces in the east appeared almost immediately after the summit in Minsk, where Poroshenko met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Two advisers of the Interior Minister of Ukraine, Zorian Shkiryak and Anton Gerashchenko, also made public announcements of Russia's "invasion." However, the officials provided absolutely no evidence to prove their words.

Meanwhile, a correspondent of Kommersant newspaper said that there were no Russian signs on militia's military hardware. The reporter, who visited the town of Novoazovsk, said that all of militia's vehicles move under the flags of Novorossia.

Following Poroshenko's statement, NATO said that there were about one thousand Russian soldiers on the territory of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Yulia Tymoshenko, the leader of Fatherland party, believes that one should urgently introduce martial law in Ukraine.

"One must make three first priority steps. Firstly, one must immediately impose martial law in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. This will considerably strengthen our defense systems."

According to Tymoshenko, President Poroshenko should take controls of the country's defense. "Thirdly, one must convene an extraordinary session of the Verkhovna Rada to approve the imposition of martial law in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions," she said.

The groups of Ukrainian military men in Donetsk and Luhansk regions retreat suffering heavy losses. After militia forces launched an active part of the military operation, the Ukrainian troops lost as many as 750 people in killed and captured. More than a hundred Ukrainian soldiers and officers voluntarily surrendered their weapons. Under the pressure of militia forces, the troops left the settlements of Slavyanoserbsk, Krymskoye and Kirov.

In Ilovaisk, fierce battles for the town continue. Representatives of militia headquarters said that the troops attacked the town from three sides simultaneously. However, despite the fact that Ukrainian units outnumbered militia forces, the attacks of Kiev troops were repulsed.

Pravda.Ru