MOSCOW, April 7 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has no plans to increase its fortifications along the border with Ukraine, a source in the the country's Border Guard Service told RIA Novosti on Monday.
"All the necessary measures have already been taken, no follow-up steps for fortifying the borders with Ukraine are being considered," the source said.
The comment followed an earlier announcement by acting Ukrainian President Olexander Turchynov, who also chairs the country's parliament, about increasing protection on Ukraine's eastern borders.
Earlier on Monday, the People's Council in Donetsk Region, established by local demonstrators, declared plans to hold a referendum on establishing an independent Republic of Donetsk and seeking to join Russia. The protesters, who contest the legitimacy of Kiev's new authorities, called for a referendum like the one held in Crimea on March 16, which saw over 96 percent of voters support reunification with Russia.
Calls for secession and federalization have been spreading across Ukraine's mainly Russian-speaking eastern regions after Ukrainian ultranationalists rose to power in Kiev, following the ouster of the country's president Viktor Yanukovych in February in an act that resembled a military coup.
