Ukraine is deploying 12,000 troops in a 'large-scale anti-terrorist operation' to defend against attacks from armed pro-Russian forces.
Ukraine's acting president Oleksandr Turchynov said on Sunday in a televised address that Ukrainian Security Council decided to use the army to not allow Russia to repeat the Crimean scenario in Ukraine's east.
Russia's foreign ministry quickly dismissed Turchynov's decree as 'criminal' and accused Ukrainian officials of using radical neo-Nazi forces.
According to news24, the former chief of Ukraine's security service, Vitaliy Zakharchenko, also warned of 'provocations' in the coming days to 'discredit Russian armed forces'.
Russia has tens of thousands of troops deployed along its border with Ukraine, which has raised fears of a military incursion, especially after the takeover of the Crimean Peninsula, the report said.
The Russian government has denied any plans to intervene militarily in eastern Ukraine.
Viktor Yanukovych, the previous president, who fled to Russia after being ousted earlier this year, accused the CIA of being behind the decision.