EU 'extremely concerned' about reports of Russia incursion in Ukraine

(BRUSSELS) - The European Union said on Thursday said it was "extremely concerned" by reports of an incursion by Russian troops into Ukraine.

"We are extremely concerned by the latest developments, including reports on what is happening on the ground," Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said at a news conference.

"We repeat our call on Russia to put an end to any form of border hostility and this obviously includes the flow of arms and military personnel into Ukraine," she said.

She said there was an urgent need for a political solution to the crisis on the eastern edge of the European Union.

Kocijancic said EU leaders would discuss the developments in Ukraine at a summit on Saturday that is primarily tasked with filling top EU jobs, including the successor for Ashton.

Immediately preceding the summit Saturday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will meet European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso in Brussels, as well as EU President Herman Van Rompuy.

EU foreign ministers are also meeting Friday and Saturday in Milan for an informal meeting where the Ukrainian crisis will be discussed at length, Kocijancic said.

Ashton attended a summit in Minsk on Tuesday which was attended by both Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin, where the leaders failed to reach a breakthrough towards defusing the crisis.