Ukraine's Poroshenko tells army not to give up Donetsk airport

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko speaks during a parliament session in Kiev December 2, 2014. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

KIEV/DONETSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - The whole of Ukraine will be within reach of the "enemy" if its armed forces lose control of the international airport in the eastern city of Donetsk to separatists, President Petro Poroshenko said on Friday.

Poroshenko issued the warning after another night of intense fighting with Russian-backed rebels at the airport, part of a new spasm of violence in a conflict which has triggered the worst standoff between Moscow and the West since the Cold War.