Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued the order after Moscow accused his country of sending in “saboteurs” to carry out attacks in Crimea. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 following a hastily called referendum, a move that sparked fighting between Russia-backed separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine. While the separatists never allowed Ukrainian forces to regain control of the border, Ukraine has also not adopted legislation to provide broad autonomy to these territories. Within hours, Mr. Poroshenko ordered the Ukrainian Army to go on combat alert not only on the de facto border with Crimea but also along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine. — APKeywords: Crimea conflict

Source: The Hindu August 11, 2016 22:30 UTC