Ukraine 'slipping out of control', Germany warns
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The crisis in eastern Ukraine is "slipping out of control" and needs to be reined in to avoid direct military confrontation between Ukraine and Russia, Germany has warned.
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on Friday warned that the "already dangerous situation" in Ukraine had now entered "a whole new dimension" and said that “our hopes that direct talks between Ukraine and Russia would contribute to de-escalating the situation have been disappointed," he said in Milan.
Steinmeier spoke as the European Union is poised to consider more sanctions on Russia. Russia has denied claims by Nato that its forces illegally crossed into Ukraine to support separatists there.
Around 2,600 people have died in fighting between rebels and Ukrainian troops. The conflict in Ukraine's eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk erupted in April following Russia's annexation of Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula a month before. Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed Ukraine for the crisis, comparing its siege of the rebel-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk to the siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany in World War Two.
Russia could face new restrictions after a summit of the European Union's 28 heads of state in Brussels on Saturday. 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. In late July, the EU also blacklisted some key economic sectors, prompting Russia to retaliate by banning food imports. Russia's energy minister has warned that the Ukrainian crisis could lead to a disruption of gas supplies to European countries.
Nato held an emergency meeting earlier on Friday after releasing satellite images it said showed columns of Russian armed forces inside Ukrainian territory. Meanwhile, heavy fighting has continued near the strategic port of Mariupol on the Azov Sea as rebel forces try to capture the city. UN reported that an average of around 36 people had been killed on a daily basis between 16 July and 17 August.