Ukraine's defence minister said Friday his armed forces do not intend to attack eastern separatists or launch an operation to reclaim the Russian-annexed peninsula of Crimea by force.

Oleksiy Reznikov told parliament that Russia has surrounded Ukraine with 149,000 troops and that more forces appeared to be on their way.

But he stressed that Ukraine would refrain from giving Russia any reason to attack its western neighbour.

"Ukraine is stepping up its defences. But we have no intention of conducting military operations against (eastern separatists) or Crimea," Reznikov said.

"Our mission is not to do any of the things the Russians are trying to provoke us into doing."

"We have to push back but keep a cool head," he said as fears mount that Russia may use an escalation in fighting as a pretext for launching an all-out invasion of Ukraine.

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China may take advantage of Ukraine crisis: US general
Singapore (AFP) Feb 16, 2022
China may take advantage of the Ukraine crisis and do something "provocative" in Asia while Western powers are focused on defusing tensions with Russia, a US general warned Wednesday. Russia's deployment of more than 100,000 troops on Ukraine's border has triggered fears in Washington and other Western capitals of a looming invasion. General Kenneth Wilsbach, the head of US Pacific Air Forces, noted that China had aligned itself with Russia in the crisis, raising questions about own intentions i ... read more