Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said Tuesday that Kiev was deploying more troops to the country's east to counter potential attacks from pro- Russian rebels.
Poroshenko said that the reinforcements would defend key Ukrainian cities which were still under government control against possible attacks from the rebels.
"Several new units have been formed that will enable us to repel possible attacks in the direction of Mariupol and Berdyansk, Kharkiv, and areas north of Luhansk and the Dnipropetrovsk region," Poroshenko said, according to a statement on the presidential website, reports The Associated Press.
Poroshenko's remark comes in the wake of Ukrainian security officials alleging that Russia has increased its transfer of troops and weapons to separatists. General Philip Breedlove, NATO's supreme allied commander Europe, also said Monday that the Ukraine- Russia border was wide open and Russian troops were training and equipping pro- Russian separatists.
General Breedlove made the comment after elections in eastern Ukraine Sunday where pro- Russian separatists voted for new leaders.
Though Russia has lent its support to the elections, Ukraine and Western leaders have denounced it saying that the rebels must abide by the ceasefire agreement and hold local elections under Ukrainian law in December.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that any attempt by the rebels to infiltrate further into Ukraine would be another breach of the ceasefire agreement signed between Ukraine and the Pro- Russian rebels in September. She also condemned the continuing attacks by the rebels in Meriupol and Dubalsiva and around the Donetsk Airport.
Meanwhile, pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine staged swearing in ceremonies for their leaders on Tuesday.
Alexander Zakharchenko was sworn in as President of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic", while Igor Plotnitsky was sworn in as the head of the Luhansk People's Republic.
Zakharchenko told reporters that he was open for "peace talks with anyone including Petro Poroshenko", reports the BBC citing Interfax news agency.
