Russia 'practically' at war with Europe, says Lithuanian president as Ukraine accuses Putin’s tanks of flattening border town

Dalia Grybauskaite believes Ukraine is 'fighting a war on behalf of Europe'

Made dramatic comments today at EU summit between leaders in Brussels

Group are threatening further sanctions against Putin following 'invasion'

Prime Minister David Cameron said situation in Ukraine was 'unacceptable'



Officials in Kiev said a column of tanks destroyed the town of Novosvitlivka

Nato estimates that at least 1,000 Russian soldiers are now in Ukraine

Russia is at war with Ukraine and so effectively at war with Europe, Lithuania's president claimed today as European leaders threatened to impose further sanctions on Vladimir Putin.

The dramatic comments from Dalia Grybauskaite come after officials in Kiev accused Moscow of using tanks to 'flatten' the border town of Novosvitlivka.

During an EU summit in Brussels today, David Cameron said it was vital to address the 'unacceptable' situation of having Russian troops on Ukrainian soil.



The Prime Minister has insisted there must be 'consequences' if an estimated 1,000 Russian troops are not withdrawn from the east of the country.

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Russia is at war with Ukraine and so effectively at war with Europe, Lithuania's president claimed today. Above, a pro-Russian rebel watches as Ukrainian troops are evacuated from the rebel-held town of Starobesheve

Two men carry an Ukrainian government soldier injured by tank fire to an ambulance in the rebel-held town

Ukrainian army personnel load the body of a dead government soldier into a truck in Starobesheve today

A pro-Russian rebel aims his rifle as he observes territory in the rebel-held town of Starobesheve, Ukraine

Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite (left) talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron, center, and Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, during an EU Summit. She said that Russia is 'practically' at war with the rest of Europe Ahead of the meeting, Grybauskate told reporters : 'It is the fact that Russia is in a war state against Ukraine. That means it is in a state of war against a country which would like to be closely integrated with the EU. Practically Russia is in a state of war against Europe.

'That means we need to help Ukraine to ... defend its territory and its people and to help militarily, especially with the military materials to help Ukraine to defend itself because today Ukraine is fighting a war on behalf of all Europe,' the leader of the former Soviet state said.

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What would Paxo say? Newsnight viewers baffled as the BBC's... Share this article Share She added that an arms embargo on Russia should be stepped up by including a halt to sales under existing contracts - a swipe notably at France, which has resisted calls to cancel a deal to sell Moscow a strategic new warship. Outgoing European commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said the situation was in danger of reaching 'the point of no return'. Orphans perch on the top of their cribs in the Ukrainian town of Makeyevka after they were relocated from Donetsk in the wake of the fighting A nurse cradles one of the 70 children who have been evacuated to the orphanage

A medic wearing a mask inspects the children who have been relocated as a result of the increase in tensions A pro-Russian rebel, right, watches as Ukrainian troops are evacuated from Starobesheve, Ukraine, today Ukrainian government forces have succumbed to a sequence of military failures and seen their holdings in the conflict-ridden east shrink in recent days as Russian-backed rebels continue their fast-paced offensive

The Prime Minister has insisted there must be 'consequences' if an estimated 1,000 Russian troops are not withdrawn from the east of the country. Above, a pro-Russian rebel watches as Ukrainian troops are evacuated

The sanctions were discussed after Nato released images apparently showing Russian forces and an array of heavy weaponry in Ukraine.



However, Mr Putin has denied that his forces are in Ukraine - and upped his own rhetoric by reminding critics that Russia has nuclear weapons.

Following the attack on Novosvitlivka , Ukraine military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told journalists in Kiev Russian tanks had and fired on every house in the community.



'We have information that virtually every house has been destroyed,' Lysenko said.



There were also accusations that Ukrainian fighter jet was been shot down by a Russian missile during combat against the rebels.

Stockpille: A Ukrainian soldier walks past a pile of shells stored inside a trench in Donetsk

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (left) shakes hands with British Prime Minister David Cameron(right) as they meet ahead of a European Council meeting in Brussels, Belgium, today

Poroshenko (left) and Cameron (right) are pictured chatting ahead of the summit in Brussels

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (left) and Cameron (right) are seen speaking at the start of the meeting A rocket and smoke trails are seen as rockets are launched from a Ukrainian army position towards pro-Russian separatists near Debaltseve, Donetsk, today

A brief statement posted on the Facebook page for the so-called operation against separatists said the Su-25 was hit yesterday, and that the pilot ejected and was uninjured.

It said the plane was hit by a missile from a Russian launcher, but did not give more detail .

Mr Cameron, who earlier held talks with Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko at a nearby hotel, said: 'We have to address the completely unacceptable situation of having Russian troops on Ukraine soil.

'Consequences must follow if that situation continues and we will be discussing that as well today.'

Today, pro-Russian rebels were spotted watching as Ukrainian troops were evacuated from Starobesheve in eastern Ukraine. And yesterday, Ukrainian forces showed off a cache of weapons that they had seized from Russian forces

Military attaches examine a Russian weapons cache - including rocket launchers - seized by the Ukrainian army on displayed in Kiev

Volunteers assist the Ukrainian army by digging trenches near Mariupol in a bid to help defend the area from pro-Russian rebels In addition to denying that its forces are in Ukraine, Russia consistently rejecting allegations that it is supplying the rebels. Until this week, the fighting had been concentrated well inland. But rebels have taken control of the town of Novoazovsk with the apparent aim of pushing further west along the coast which connects Russia to the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula. The expansion of the four-month-old conflict raised strong calls by the West for Russia to back off its involvement in Ukraine. Several European Union foreign ministers yesterday accused Russia of invading eastern Ukraine and said Moscow should be punished with additional economic sanctions. 'We see regular Russian army units operating offensively on the Ukrainian territory against the Ukrainian army,' said Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt. 'We must call a spade a spade.' The effort by volunteers in the Donetsk region as European leaders meet in Brussels to consider fresh sanctions against Putin A burned trolleybus is seen near Donetsk train station after shelling in the region over night Fighting between Ukrainian military forces and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine has already claimed at least 2,200 lives, according to UN figures. European Union leaders are today poised to slap additional sanctions on Russia because of what they condemn as a continued destabilization of Ukraine and a deepening military involvement by Moscow. The 28-nation bloc's heads of state and government on Saturday were also set to discuss possible further assistance for Ukraine as the country's president, Petro Poroshenko, was expected to brief the leaders in Brussels on the situation. Additional EU sanctions would aim at inflicting more economic pain in hopes of changing what is viewed as Russian meddling in Ukraine. A woman passes by burnt-out shops in Donetsk as fighting continues to intensify in the region