Putin's Crimea visit aims to stir up Ukraine conflict - Poroshenko

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko criticised Russian leader Vladimir Putin for visiting Russia-annexed Crimea on Monday, saying his action was part of a plan to whip up tensions in eastern Ukraine.

"This is a challenge to the civilised world and a continuation of the plan to escalate the situation which is being carried out by Russian troops and their mercenaries in the Donbass (east Ukraine)," Poroshenko said in a Facebook post.