Ukraine’s new president called on the west to impose fresh sanctions on Russia as he declared Sunday a day of mourning for the 49 people killed when separatist rebels shot down a military aircraft.
Kiev said 40 soldiers and nine crew died on Saturday when the IL-76 transport plane was brought down by anti-aircraft fire as it attempted to land in the separatist-controlled city of Luhansk,
The incident came one week after Petro Poroshenko became president and marks the single largest loss for Ukrainian forces since April when they launched a crackdown on separatists in the breakaway Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
In an address to the nation late on Saturday, Mr Poroshenko said he had given Ukraine’s armed forces the task of taking control of the border with Russia, “through which terrorists are receiving arms, vehicles, backing and money”.
As relations between Moscow and Kiev deteriorated further, a deadline loomed to avoid Russia cutting off gas supplies to Ukraine, threatening to erupt into a third “gas war” in eight years and potentially disrupting the flow of Russian gas to European markets through Ukraine.
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