Ukraine leader, after key loss to separatists, says situation 'difficult but controllable'

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, speaking on Thursday after the army lost a key town to separatists, said the situation in the conflict zone in the east was "extraordinarily difficult ... but controllable", Interfax news agency reported.

Poroshenko, who was speaking at a meeting of top security chiefs after the town of Novoazovsk fell to Russian-backed separatists, said Russian troops had come "to the rescue" of the rebels after Kiev's earlier military successes.