Ukraine's Poroshenko says warns Merkel of escalating eastern conflict

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Friday he had told Germany's Angela Merkel by telephone that the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine was escalating due to "significant" violations of a Sept. 5 ceasefire deal.

"The President noted a significant deviation from the implementation of the Minsk (ceasefire) protocol, which is leading to further escalation of the conflict," a statement on the presidential website said.