DAVOS, SWITZERLAND--Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Wednesday that more than 9,000 Russian soldiers were currently backing up pro-Moscow fighters in the separatist east of the country.
"We have more than 9,000 troops of the Russian Federation on my territory, including more than 500 tanks and heavy artillery and armed personnel carriers," Poroshenko told the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The pro-Western leader stressed there was no military solution to the brutal nine-month conflict that has killed more than 4,800 people and brought Ukraine's economy to its knees.
But he insisted that the key to peace was held by Russia -- a country that has firmly denied supporting the insurgents despite NATO satellite imagery purporting to show its forces' presence in Ukraine.
"The solution is very simple. Stop supplying weapons. Stop supplying ammunition. Withdraw the troops and close the border. A very simple peace plan," Poroshenko said to a round of applause.
AFP
