Ukraine's president orders military on high alert following Putin comments

KIEV, Ukraine, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday ordered all military units near the border of Russian-annexed Crimea to be placed on the highest alert of combat preparedness.

"President Poroshenko: High-alert level on the administrative line with Crimea and contact line in eastern Ukraine," The Bankova presidential office said in a statement.

Military units in the eastern Donbass region were also put on high alert, Poroshenko said on Twitter.

Poroshenko's move comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused the Ukrainian military of launching attacks into Crimea, attacks that he said killed two Russian service members, as part of repeated efforts to reclaim the peninsula.

Poroshenko on Wednesday dismissed Putin's allegations as provocations.

"Russian accusations that Ukraine launched terror attacks in the occupied Crimea are equally cynical and insane as it claims there is no Russian troops in eastern Ukraine," Poroshenko said. "Ukraine resolutely condemns terrorism in all its forms and shapes. We would never ever use terror to de-occupy Crimea."