UKRAINE says Russia has thousands of troops in its conflict-ravaged east and has vowed to boost its own military capacity.

The latest declarations from Ukraine’s defence minister threaten to provoke fresh Russian anger as Kiev flags its allegiance to the West ever more clearly.

Russia denies providing military support to pro-Moscow separatists fighting Ukrainian forces in the east, where nearly 1000 people have died since a ceasefire began in September.

“Unfortunately, the stabilisation of the situation in the east of Ukraine does not depend only on us,” Defence Minister Stepan Poltorak said in a statement.

“The presence of 7500 representatives of Russian armed forces in Ukraine destabilises the situation and prevents us from stabilising it.”

Cash-strapped Ukraine also plans to “increase the strength of the armed forces” and boost levels of arms and equipment, Poltorak said, but would not provide a time frame.

His comments came after Ukraine’s new coalition declared that joining NATO was a priority.

The five-party coalition, agreed on Friday following October elections, features the groupings of President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and former premier Yulia Tymoshenko.

NATO, a military alliance of 28 nations including the US, this week warned of a “very serious build-up” of Russian troops, artillery and air defence systems inside Ukraine and on the Russian side of the border.