'I don’t want anybody to think that it's a trifle. The country is under the threat of a full-scale war with the Russian Federation', Poroshenko said in an interview with Ukrainian TV channels.
The Ukrainian president also demonstrated satellite images allegedly showing a Russian military base, located 18 kilometres (11 miles) from the Ukrainian border, that were obtained on September 17, September 24 and in October.
'As you can see, the number of tanks in the bases located along our border has tripled. Why were they relocated there? The number of units re-deployed along the entire length of our border has dramatically increased. The position on possible exercises does not justify this increase in any way', Poroshenko noted.
He pointed out that the tanks had not been taken out of the base after the Kerch Strait incident and remained there.
'After the incident in the Sea of Azov we were supposed to provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with a capability of resistance in case of a large-scale ground invasion', Poroshenko said.
READ MORE: Poroshenko Ignited Kerch Row to Bolster Image as Ukraine's ‘Protector'
The statements were made amid the recent so-called provocation of Ukrainian ships that crossed the Russian maritime border on 25 November. According to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the vessels sailed toward the Kerch Strait, an entrance to the Sea of Azov, where the ships were seized by Russia due to the lack of reply to a lawful demand to stop.
The Russian Foreign Ministry described the Ukrainian vessels’ actions as a provocation committed in violation of the international law.
