TEMPO.CO, Kiev - Ukraine's military has pulled back its forces from the main airport in eastern region after Russian tanks infiltrated the airport. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accused Moscow of conducting a "direct and open aggression".
The withdrawal of the forces from the civilian airport outside the city of Luhansk was the latest in the series of uproars between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists. Kiev said the separatists were supported by hundreds of Russian troops and armor.
In a statement issued Monday, Ukraine's military said the troops were fighting a Russian tank battalion near the airport. "In the Luhansk direction, Ukrainian forces have received an order and have pulled back from the airport," said Andriy Lysenko, a military spokesman.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent Paul Brennan, reporting from Mariupol said: "the airport is strategically vital because it was being held by Ukrainian paratroopers and they could easily be supplied by the air."
Speaking at a military academy in Kiev, Poroshenko said Russia’s direct involvement in Ukraine’s war against the separatists in eastern Ukraine had caused an imbalance and was the main reason for recent setbacks.
"Direct and open aggression has been launched against Ukraine from a neighbouring state. This has changed the situation in the zone of conflict in a radical way," Poroshenko said.
Moscow denied Poroshenko's accusation of helping the rebels who want to be part of Russia.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Valeriy Geletey on Monday said a "great war" has broken out with Russia. He said the war could claim tens of thousands of lives.
"A great war has arrived at our doorstep - the likes of which Europe has not seen since World War II. Unfortunately, the losses in such a war will be measured not in the hundreds but thousands and tens of thousands," said Geletey.
AL JAZEERA | CHOIRUL