Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says more than 9000 Russian soldiers are backing up pro-Moscow fighters in the country's separatist east.
"We have more than 9000 troops of the Russian Federation on my territory, including more than 500 tanks and heavy artillery and armed personnel carriers," Poroshenko told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday.
The pro-Western leader stressed there was no military solution to the brutal nine-month conflict that has killed more than 4800 people and brought Ukraine's economy to its knees.
But he insisted that the key to peace was held by Russia - a country that has firmly denied supporting the insurgents despite NATO satellite imagery purporting to show its forces' presence in Ukraine.
"The solution is very simple. Stop supplying weapons. Stop supplying ammunition. Withdraw the troops and close the border. A very simple peace plan," Poroshenko said to a round of applause.
Poroshenko - elected in May on a promise to bring his ex-Soviet republic under the military protection of NATO and within the 28-nation EU - repeated his urgent call on Western powers to supply Ukraine with modern weapons that could ward off a Russian attack.
"We have a very strong army to defend our territory. But defensive technology is also the things which we need, because only a strong army can help us keep the territory," he said in English.
"Political, economic, defensive and moral support - these are the four key ingredients for supporting Ukraine," the 49-year-old leader said.
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