former assistant
Fearing the situation would worsen because of the escalating conflict between the Ukrainians and the separatists, Moscow called a meeting with President Vladimir Putin. However, the Russian foreign minister added that Kiev is ready to return the Russian troops which it had surrendered at the UN summit.
KIEV, Ukraine's first foreign minister, said the military intervention in eastern Ukraine by the separatists was "an unacceptable attempt to destabilize Ukraine".
"We urge Russia to respect Ukraine's sovereignty. If it did that with arms, it would be the greatest mistake in Ukrainian history" said Putin.
He called it a "staggering" escalation in the conflict and said separatists had lost their "most fundamental allies".
He said the incident happened as a response to "the growing problem of anti-Ukraine sentiment and threats".
"The United Nations is investigating the attack", Lavrov said. "This is an international event. It was the most international of the three, the first is the most national. It demonstrates the urgency of the situation."
Faced with Western condemnation of the Ukrainian invasion of Sloviansk last year, Putin on Thursday called on Russia to give Moscow more money to help Ukraine fight the insurgency.
Russian troops take part in this undated photo released by the Russian Defence Ministry in the Rostelecom region in central Ukraine. Moscow's forces took