‘Russia wants to control whole of Ukraine’

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk on Saturday accused Russia of wanting to control the whole of Ukraine, arguing that only NATO could provide his country with the protection it needed.

“[Putin’s] goal is to take not only the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but the whole of Ukraine,” Yatsenyuk said.

Kiev and Western governments have accused Moscow of deploying Russian troops and tanks into eastern Ukraine in support of separatist rebels.

Meanwhile, more than half of the vehicles forming part of Russia’s second humanitarian aid convoy arrived in Luhansk, according to

RIA Novosti .

The convoy, which consists of 200 lorries in total, contains more than a thousand tonnes of humanitarian aid, including food, sugar, flour and diesel generators.

A first aid convoy, which crossed the border into Ukraine in August after days of waiting for clearance, was denounced by Kiev.

With a few exceptions, fighting between the separatists and Ukraine’s military has died down in recent days after a ceasefire plan was agreed last week.