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Ukraine is able to respond to the threat of military aggression, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said.

“We’re able to defend ourselves. Yes, we need modern high-tech weapons, we need means of reconnaissance. Negotiations about this have been completed as of today, and I’m sure our position in this will greatly improve,” he said at the beginning of a meeting of the National Security Council in Kyiv on Aug. 28.

Poroshenko urged Ukrainians to remain calm, united and demonstrate solidarity.

“Military operations are under way in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. But they mean not only the liberation of Donbas, but also the defense of the whole of Ukraine. We’re facing a real struggle for the real independence of our country in these days and in these hours,” Poroshenko said.