Ukraine says there are 9000 Russian troops on its soil – Russia denies

#petroporoshenko #sergeilavrov #johnkerry #ukraine #davos In the course of a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has claimed that over 9,000 Russian soldiers, backed by a whole range of heavy weapons including more than 500 tanks, armed personnel carriers and artillery systems, are at present on the soil of Ukraine.
These actions amount to aggression and these pro-Moscow fighters are supporting the separatist east of the country. This has been challenged by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who has demanded that Kiev present necessary proof to prove the charges. US Secretary of State John Kerry has termed the actions of Russia as "a blatant land grab".
President Petro Poroshenko is a pro-western leader and he has called upon Moscow to comply with a September peace plan and also extend cooperation to seal the long joint border with Ukraine and simultaneously, withdrawing the Russian troops.
The nine-month conflict that began in March has already taken more than 4,800 lives and has heaped miseries on the economy of Ukraine. Moocow continues to deny that it is extending support to the insurgents. Moscow also disputes NATO satellite imagery that reportedly shows the presence of Russian forces in Ukraine.
Germany is trying to mediate in the ongoing conflict and it hosting representatives of France, Russia and Ukraine in Berlin to discuss the crisis. As revealed by Chancellor Angela Merkel, the objective of the talks was to try to reschedule a summit of the four countries in the Kazakh capital Astana. This had been called off last week due to renewed fighting.