Kiev

A reported comment by President Vladimir Putin that Russia could capture Ukraine's capital Kiev within two weeks was taken out of context, Itar-Tass news agency quoted a Kremlin foreign policy aide as saying on Sept. 2.
 
It quoted Yuri Ushakov as saying that whether or not those words were spoken, the quote "was taken out of context and had a totally different meaning."
 

Russia "could take Kiev in two weeks"

MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has told European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso that Russia could conquer Kiev in two weeks.

A new round of talks within the Contact group for Eastern Ukraine held Tuesday has failed to yield results.

Ukrainian forces ceded a strategic eastern airport to pro-Russian insurgents on Sept. 1 as the government in Kiev accused Moscow of launching a "great war" that could claim tens of thousands of lives.

By Henning Gloystein

LONDON - The European Union could ban gas exports and limit industrial use as part of emergency measures to protect household energy supplies this winter, a source told Reuters, as it braces for a possible halt in Russian gas as a result of the Ukraine crisis.

Up to 15,000 Russian soldiers have been sent to Ukraine over the past two months, and at least several hundred have apparently died in combat there, rights groups exposing army abuses told AFP on Sept. 1.

Kiev forces have pulled back from the airport of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine after having fought pro-Russian separatist for hours.

The country's security council confirmed the move in a statement quoted by UNIAN news agency.

Meanwhile reports emerged that a Ukrainian warship had been attacked by separatists in the Azov sea. Kiev says the cutter was assaulted from the coast.

Poroshenko: Situation in conflict zone changed radically

KIEV -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has accused Russia of launching a "direct and open aggression against Ukraine."

He asserted that this changed the balance of power in the conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian activists.

Ukrainian troops on Sept. 1 were battling a Russian tank contingent in the eastern city of Lugansk, Kiev said, accusing Moscow's army units of moving into large cities in the region.

European Union leaders on Aug. 31 gave Russia a week to reverse course in Ukraine or face a new round of sanctions as Kiev warned it was on the brink of "full-scale war" with Moscow.

Fears are growing that the confrontation on the EU's eastern borders could engulf the whole continent after Russia sent troops to back a new offensive by pro-Kremlin rebels in southeastern Ukraine.