The European Union readied a fresh wave of sanctions against Russia on Saturday with warnings that the escalating crisis in Ukraine was putting all of Europe at risk of conflict.Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said as he visited Brussels to plead with EU leaders for tougher measures that Kiev and Moscow were on the verge of "full-scale war".
Fears of a wider confrontation spiralled after claims that Russia has sent troops to help fight a new offensive by pro-Kremlin rebels that has wrested several southeastern Ukrainian towns from Kiev's control.
EU Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso warned that the crisis was near a "point of no return" and said Brussels had drawn up new sanctions against the Kremlin that the 28 leaders would discuss at their summit on Saturday.