Ukraine rebels seek Russia's help, potentially marking prelude for war

Kremlin said rebels in eastern Ukraine asked Russia for military help on Wednesday to help fend off Ukrainian "aggression."

The Kremlin said rebels in eastern Ukraine asked Russia for military assistance Wednesday to help fend off Ukrainian “aggression,” an announcement that immediately fueled fears that Moscow was offering up a pretext for war, just as the West had warned about.

A short time later, the Ukrainian president rejected Moscow’s claims that his country poses a threat to Russia and warned that a Russian invasion would cost tens of thousands of lives.

“The people of Ukraine and the government of Ukraine want peace,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an emotional overnight address to his nation in Russian. “But if we