Ukraine accuses Russia of attacking airfield amid tensions over region

A battle is under way at the airport of the eastern city of Luhansk, Ukrainian counter terrorism officials said.

Shortly before the attack, Russia urged the Ukrainian military to retreat from civilian locations in the east, saying pro-Moscow separatists in the region will not disarm for fear of getting killed.

The same day, Ukraine said one of its patrol boats was capsized and two of its crew are missing off the coast of the city of Mariupol. Officials did not say who was behind the attack.

Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko has said thousands of Russian troops are in his nation's east, helping the separatists.

Though Russia has denied sending its troops to Ukraine, it defended the rebels' action in the east.

"Washington and Brussels need to ask Kiev authorities to stop shelling the houses, schools, hospitals and so on because you leave militia with no choice but to stand up to protect their people," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"Let's not ask militia to lay down their weapons and allow themselves to be killed."

Lavrov said negotiations, not threats, will help resolve the crisis between the two neighbors.

"Let us sit down and talk instead of threatening with sanctions and stubbornly making absolutely unrealistic demands of the militia laying down arms," he said. "This is what the peace plan of Poroshenko is about."

Russian President Vladimir Putin sparked controversy when he talked about "statehood" for eastern Ukraine.

"Substantive meaningful talks related to the issues of society's political organization and statehood in southeastern Ukraine should start immediately in order to protect people living there," Putin said Sunday.

The Kremlin later denied that Putin was calling for statehood in the region, saying he was referring to inclusive talks with all sides represented.

Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March following the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych the previous month.

Violence broke out in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions in April when separatist leaders declared independence from the government in Kiev. Since then, the conflict between the pro-Russia rebels and the Ukrainian military has killed 2,500 people, according to the United Nations.

A U.S. lawmaker called for the arming of Ukrainian forces along the eastern border.

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, is in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. He said the conflict in eastern Ukraine is not a rebel uprising, but a Russian invasion.

"We should be providing the Ukrainians with the type of defensive weapons that will impose a cost upon Putin for further aggression," said Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In the past, U.S. President Barack Obama has opposed supplying Ukraine with weapons. .

Poroshenko warned that his nation's crisis with Russia has worsened, and is inching closer to a "full-scale war."

The European Union has demanded Moscow withdraw its troops or face additional sanctions.