Russia ready for ‘long war’ in Ukraine, US warns

KYIV, Ukraine: The United States warned on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready for a long war in Ukraine and will not stop at the eastern Donbas region where fighting is currently raging.

Washington’s bleak prediction came as Ukraine said its membership of the European Union was a question of "war and peace" for the whole continent as it faces up to Moscow. As it battled Russian attempts to advance in the east, Kyiv hailed what it said was EU powerhouse Germany’s change of stance on a Russian oil embargo and on supplying arms to Ukraine.

Violence still raged in southern Ukraine with overnight missile strikes in the port of Odessa, while officials said some 1,000 troops were trapped in the Azovstal steel works in the devastated city of Mariupol.

Putin gave few hints on his plans in a speech during a huge military parade in Moscow on Monday, saying only that Russian troops were defending the "Motherland" and blaming the West for the conflict.