EU rebuffs Ukraine call to send ships to waters off Russia

European leaders have rebuffed calls from Ukraine for greater support against Russia after Kiev urged NATO to send ships into waters disputed with Moscow.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel instead asked Ukraine to be "sensible" following the request from President Petro Poroshenko, just hours after the EU failed to agree on new sanctions against Moscow.

On Thursday, Poroshenko asked NATO members, including Germany, to send naval vessels to the Sea of Azov to back his country after Russian forces seized three Ukrainian ships off the coast of Crimea.

"Germany is one of our closest allies, and we hope that states within NATO are now ready to relocate naval ships to the Sea of Azov in order to assist Ukraine and provide security," he told Germany's Bild newspaper.

Merkel apparently dismissed the request for military support. 

"We ask the Ukrainian side too to be sensible because we know that we can only solve things through being reasonable and through dialogue because there is no military solution to these disputes," she said.

Ukraine bans Russian men, mulls 'mirror actions' 

Ukraine on Friday limited entry for Russian men aged 16 to 60 after imposing martial law in border regions this week. 

"As of today, entry is restricted for foreigners -- in the first instance for male citizens of the Russian Federation age 16 to 60," the head of the border service Petro Tsyhykal said at a meeting with Poroshenko broadcast live. 

Russian lawmaker Frants Klintsevich said his country does not plan to ban Ukrainian men from entering the country in a tit-for-tat response. 

Ukraine is also considering whether to respond in kind with "mirror actions" to Russia, senior official at the state security service (SBU) Ihor Huskov told reporters.

"Decisions are being considered with regard to the conduct of appropriate mirror actions as a response to the actions of the aggressor," Huskov said.

SS