Obama to visit Estonia over Ukraine crisis

US president Barack Obama will visit ex-Soviet Estonia today, before a summit of Nato members that will focus on how to respond to Russia's alleged deployment of troops and armour in eastern Ukraine.

Ahead of Mr Obama's arrival and tomorrow's Nato gathering in Wales, Moscow said it would revise its military doctrine to take into account the alliance's possible expansion and Ukraine's increasingly bloody conflict.

Separatist militants allegedly backed by Russia’s army continued to push back Ukraine’s forces yesterday, as the UN said more than one million people had been displaced by fighting that had sent a severe chill through East-West relations.

Mr Obama is due to meet the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – who are among Europe’s strongest advocates for a tough response to Kremlin interference in Ukraine – and deliver a strong message of support for Kiev as it seeks to integrate with the West after centuries of Russian domination.

Nato membership

Ukraine’s leaders say the country is battling a Russian invasion. Ukrainian prime minister

Arseniy Yatsenyuk

has asked parliament to cancel its neutral status and allow it to apply for Nato membership at some point in the future.

Russia has long bemoaned Nato's perceived encroachment on to former Soviet territory, and the deputy secretary of its national security council, Mikhail Popov, yesterday criticised its plans for fast-response units in eastern Europe.

He called the scheme “evidence of the desire of US and Nato leaders to continue their policy of aggravating tensions with Russia”.

“Russia is being deliberately painted as the enemy, and its political course is seen as a new threat to Nato,” he said.

On possible expansion of the alliance, Mr Popov added that “the question of the approach of Nato members’ military infrastructure to our border” would be taken into consideration as “one of the foreign military threats to Russia” when its defence doctrine is updated this year.

Nato confirmed it intended to hold exercises in western Ukraine this month, as Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said a "party of war" in Kiev was escalating the crisis with encouragement from the US, Nato and some EU states.

Western powers insist they will not intervene militarily in fighting between Kiev’s forces and militants who want southeast Ukraine to join Russia.

The main EU and US response to the crisis remains the imposition of sanctions on Russia. EU leaders last Saturday gave Russian president Vl- adimir Putin a week to de-escalate the conflict or face tougher economic punishment.

Barroso challenged

Further strain was put on Russia-EU relations yesterday, when Moscow challenged

European Commission

president José Manuel Barroso over his reported claim that Mr Putin told him he could “take Kiev in two weeks” if he wished.

Yuri Ushakov, an aide to Mr Putin, said: “Whether these words were said or not I believe the quote . . . has been taken out of context and had a completely different meaning.”

Russia’s envoy to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, wrote to Mr Barroso to tell him that Moscow would release a recording of the conversation to “clear up misunderstandings” unless he requested it not to do so within two days.

As rebel forces – which Russia insists it is not supporting – sought to seize Donetsk airport and pushed towards the Azov Sea port of Mariupol, the UN refugee agency said more than one million people had been displaced by fighting in Ukraine.