UKRAINE has started calling up reservists and sent troops to its border with Russia as tensions continue to simmer between the two nations.

Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine’s president, announced the decision Monday, saying it was in response to a “sharp increase in Russian forces along our borders and in occupied Crimea,” British newspaper The Telegraph reported.

On Sunday, the Ukrainian leader warned that Moscow had ambitions to capture the port city of Mariupol to create a corridor to the disputed Crimean peninsula.

Just over a week ago, Russia blocked three Ukrainian naval ships from passing from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. Moscow’s forces seized Ukraine’s ships and detained 24 Ukrainian sailors.

Poroshenko then declared martial law in 10 regions of his country that are either in proximity to the Russian border or regions where Russian-backed separatist rebels have taken control.(SD-Agencies)