Russia wants to inflame tensions by ignoring planned peace talks, Kyiv says

Ukraine accused Russia of wanting to escalate tensions by not attending planned trilateral peace talks on eastern Ukraine on Saturday, adding that it was concerned by the worsening security situation in the conflict zone.

Western powers have warned that Russia could be poised to launch a full scale attack on Ukraine after massing more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine's borders. Russia denies any such plan.

"We believe that the non-participation of the Russian Federation indicates its conscious intention to continue escalating the situation," a statement by the Ukrainian delegation to the talks said.