Russia says Kiev provoking east Ukraine violence before EU talks

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin accused Kiev on Thursday of provoking new fighting in east Ukraine to put pressure on the European Union, which is due to decide on whether to extend sanctions on Russia soon.

"The Ukrainian side has taken steps to aggravate tensions many times in the past in the run up to some major international events. This used to happen and we are seriously concerned now over the most recent manifestation of such activity," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.