Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. EU Leaders Threaten More Sanctions on Russia Over Ukraine by VOA News The European Union has threatened Russia with new sanctions if Moscow continues its military activity in eastern Ukraine. But the EU is deeply divided on the severity of possible actions, as many of the 28 members of the European bloc are dependent on Russian gas and trade. EU leaders meeting in Brussels announced early Sunday after lengthy talks that they have asked the European Commission for a list to be prepared within a week of new measures to take against Russia if it fails to reverse course in Ukraine. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said, "The European Council says that it stands ready to take further significant steps in the light of the evolution of the situation on the ground and it requests the commission to urgently undertake preparatory work, together with (European External) Action Service and present proposals for consideration within, within a week." Merkel, Cameron warn Moscow German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Russian President Vladimir Putin must act quickly to avoid new sanctions. Merkel said, "There is very significant inflow of troops and material from the Russian side into Ukraine, into Ukrainian territory, which means that there is a significant escalation on the ground, at the same time we said, and this is the view of all the members of the European Council, that there cannot be a military solution to this conflict, and that is to say that all our efforts must go towards keeping the channel of communication open and to try time and again, as President (Petro) Poroshenko also pointed out, to bring about a mutually agreed cease-fire." British Prime Minister David Cameron said Russia must realize its relationship with the West has a bleak future it Moscow continues on its current path in eastern Ukraine. "It is a deeply serious situation and we have to show real resolve, real resilience in demonstrating to Russia that if she carries on in this way the relationship between Europe and Russia, Britain and Russia, America and Russia will be radically different in the future," said Cameron. "They cannot go on in this way, we know from European history the danger of the territorial integrity of a nation state being threatened and undermined in this way and we have to send the clearest possible signal and tonight we have taken some important steps in doing just that." A joint statement by the EU leaders demanded Russia "immediately withdraw all its military assets and forces from Ukraine." Despite overwhelming evidence, Russia denies it has such forces in Ukraine. New sanctions on Russia would require unanimity among EU leaders, and many are wary of taking strong measures in fear of an economic backlash. The United States has expressed strong support for the latest European actions, saying in a statement overnight, Washington is "working closely with the EU and other partners to hold Russia accountable for its illegal actions in Ukraine, including through additional economic sanctions." A top European official says Russia is pushing the conflict in eastern Ukraine to the "point of no return," and that the European Union may impose new economic sanctions to encourage Moscow to "come to reason." European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso spoke Saturday in Brussels, alongside Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko. ''The Ukrainian leader -- pleading for a stronger Western response to the crisis -- said thousands of Russian troops and hundreds of Russian tanks are on Ukrainian soil. He also warned that prospects for a political settlement to the months-long crisis are threatened by Kremlin actions, and that failure to resolve the crisis could result in the conflict spreading to other parts of Europe. Moscow is believed to be supporting pro-Russia separatists fighting government troops in eastern Ukraine. Officials in Kyiv said Saturday Russian tanks had destroyed "virtually every house" in the small Ukrainian border town of Novosvitlivka. To the south, Russian-backed rebels also seized the coastal town of Novoazovsk this past week after several days of fighting. For their part, rebel leaders admit that Russian soldiers are fighting in Ukraine, but separatist leader Oleksandr Zakharchenko insists they are doing so as volunteers while on leave from the Russian army. Earlier in the week, NATO estimated at least 1,000 Russian troops are present inside the country. Government troops pulling out Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine's national security council, said Saturday that government troops were pulling out of several communities in the east where rebel forces have mounted an increasingly strong show of force. Ukrainian troops had taken control of the besieged border town, Novosvitlivka, earlier in the month. On Saturday, they retreated from that town and from Khryashchuvate, both on the main road between rebel-held Luhansk and the border with Russia. ''Government troops also pulled out of Starobesheve and from Ilovaisk; they'd been surrounded in the latter town for days. Though they carried white flags in surrender, rebels "shot us from all sides," one masked, unnamed soldier told the AP. "We were not engaged in military actions. We were just on the move." No official death toll was provided, though soldiers estimated dozens could have been killed. Ukrainian military officials said an Su-25 fighter jet was shot down Friday by a Russian missile during fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of the country. The pilot managed to eject safely. There was no indication of precisely where the incident took place. A dire history lesson Back in Brussels, British Prime minister David Cameron called the situation in Ukraine "completely unacceptable" and said Europe should know from history how dire such a situation is. The president of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaite, pushed for sending military aid to Ukraine, saying Russia is "effectively in a state of war against Europe." Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of repressing its opponents in the country's east. He also has compared Kyiv's push to reclaim rebel strongholds near the Russian border to the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. Monday marks 75 years since the war began in Europe with Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland. Lithuania was occupied successively by German and Soviet forces during the war and was absorbed by the Soviet Union afterwards, until declaring itself independent again in 1990. NATO summit next week A two-day NATO summit next week will address what is seen as Russia's territorial overreach. U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to attend the gathering in Wales, which begins Thursday. NATO estimates 1,000 Russian troops are conducting "illegal military operations" inside Ukraine, with thousands more marshaled near Ukraine's border. __________________________________________________________________ [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/poroshenko-seeks-european-union-suppo rt/2433155.html References 1. http://www.voanews.com/content/poroshenko-seeks-european-union-support/2433155.html