Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- A perilous face-off intensified Saturday when Russia state news complained that Ukraine had mobilized 15,000 troops in the suburbs of Slavyansk in eastern Ukraine "in order to wipe out the city and its residents."
Quoting a Russian Defense Ministry source, RIA Novosti said satellite photos showed the force forming around the city that has become a friction point between the Ukraine military and pro-Russian militants.
The Defense Ministry source said the number of Ukraine troops put the pro-Russian militants at a disadvantage because the latter are "armed only with small amount of pistols and shotguns." Many eastern Ukraine residents have Russian roots and sympathize with Moscow.
The source said the photos showed about 160 tanks, 230 infantry combat vehicles and armored personnel carriers, mine throwers and multiple-launch rocket systems.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly criticized Kiev's use of force against Ukrainian civilians.
Developments in Ukraine have come at a rapid pace in recent days:
-- Russia, which already had 40,000 troops on its side of the border, started new military drills a few days ago after Ukrainian forces said they killed five pro-Russian militants. Ukraine launched the second stage of an "anti-terrorist operation" against militants in Slavyansk.
-- On Friday, a team of European and Ukrainian military observers were seized Friday by pro-Russian separatists in Slavyansk.
-- Russian military aircraft "crossed and violated" Ukrainian airspace seven times overnight, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told reporters in Rome on Saturday. The Russian Defense Ministry denied the accusation, according to the state news agency Itar-Tass.
-- Yatsenyuk met with Pope Francis while in Rome on Saturday. The meeting has been seen as a sigh of support from the Vatican for his government.
-- G7 leaders said they would impose new sanctions on Russia over its role in the crisis.
The Ukrainian Prime Minister urged Russia to pull back its security forces and not to support pro-Russian militants in eastern and southern Ukraine. "We urge Russia to leave us alone," he said in televised remarks.
Ukraine's government has promised constitutional reforms and protections for Russian speakers in a bid to ease the tensions in its eastern regions.
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