Russia has repeatedly denied Ukrainian and Western accusations that it is providing troops and equipment to the rebels.

Russia’s foreign ministry said it was “hard to believe that such statements can be made by the defence minister of a civilised state”.



Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday that there could be “no military solution” to the crisis in Ukraine.

The situation was “very chaotic and dangerous” and required “a political dialogue for a political solution” that was sustainable, he told journalists during a visit to New Zealand.

Russia dismissed the comments, saying they only pulled the Ukrainian people further into a bloody civil conflict.

The comments came after Ukrainian troops were forced to flee Luhansk airport in the east of the country amid an offensive by pro-Russian rebels.

Meanwhile, crisis talks between Ukraine officials, rebels and Russian envoys have broken up without agreement.

“A great war has arrived at our doorstep – the likes of which Europe has not seen since World War Two,” Ukrainian Defence Minister Valeriy Heletey wrote on Facebook on Monday.

“Unfortunately, the losses in such a war will be measured not in the hundreds but thousands and tens of thousands,” he added.

The latest round of crisis talks got underway in Belarus on Monday but after several hours of negotiations, they were adjourned until Friday.

Russia Denies Ukrainian and Western Accusation“This is just the beginning of the process,” Andrei Purgin, a leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic rebel group, told Russian TV.

Rebel representatives are said to have softened their demand for full independence, telling Russian media they were seeking a “special status” for their regions within Ukraine.

While US President Barack Obama arrived in Estonia early Wednesday to meet Baltic leaders and reaffirm Washington’s commitment to the security of ex-Soviet NATO members, as Russia declared NATO a major “threat”

Moscow’s surprise declaration came after the Western military alliance announced plans to reinforce defences in eastern Europe because of the Kremlin’s perceived stoking of war in Ukraine.

It also comes ahead of a NATO summit in Wales on Thursday at which beleaguered Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will lobby Obama for military backing.

Moscow’s answer to Nato’s intentions was instant and furious.

The Russian national security council’s deputy secretary Mikhail Popov said the mooted Western defence plan was “evidence of the desire of US and Nato leaders to continue their policy of aggravating tensions with Russia”.

Popov added that Russia’s 2010 military doctrine – a document that already permits the use of nuclear weapons should national security be considered in grave danger – would sharpen its focus on overcoming Nato and its new European missile defence system.

The outcome of NATO’s meaning would go a long way in deciding what the future might look perhaps for the countries.