Ukrainian crisis/ The introduction of the state of emergency in the regions engulfed by the rebellion

Russian officials struck a defiant note Monday after Western leaders threatened to further punish Moscow for escalated fighting in eastern Ukraine over the weekend, arguing that the Ukrainian government is responsible for the latest increase in violence.

In televised comments after a meeting with students in St. Petersburg, President Vladimir Putin said that the Ukrainian leadership was at fault for the uptick in violence and accused it of using civilians as "cannon fodder" in the conflict.

"(Ukraine's army) is not even an army, it's a foreign legion, in this case a foreign NATO legion," Putin said. "They have totally different goals, connected to the geopolitical containment of Russia, which absolutely do not coincide with the national interests of the Ukrainian people."

Russia defiant after more threats from West over Ukraine