Petro Poroshenko: Russia Invades Ukraine

Petro Poroshenko. Photo: EPA/BGNES

Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko announced on Thursday that Russian troops have invaded Ukraine and cancelled his working visit to Turkey.

In a televised address to the nation Poroshenko said he has decided to cancel his trip to Turkey for the inauguration of Recep Erdogan as president, due to “the aggravation of the situation in Donetsk region, particularly in Amvrosiivka and Starobeshevo, as Russian troops were actually brought into Ukraine,” he said.

In his statement, published on the presidential website, Poroshenko said that he has called in a meeting of the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) to discuss further actions.

"The President must stay in Kyiv today,"  he said.

Ukraine will urgently initiate the convocation of the UN Security Council meeting. "The world must provide assessment of sharp aggravation of the situation in Ukraine," the President noted.

According to him, Ukraine will address its European partners with a request to call an emergency meeting of the Council of the European Union.

The President said that he had made a decision to cancel the visit despite seven bilateral meetings planned within the framework of festivities on the occasion of the Turkish President's inauguration.

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