Ukraine Ambassador: We Will Ask For Help If Russian Action Expands

REUTERS/Thomas Peter Military personnel stand guard in the Crimean port city of Feodosiya March 2, 2014.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ukraine is preparing to defend itself against Russia but will ask other countries for help if Russia expands its military action, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United Nations said on Sunday.

"We are to demonstrate that we have our own capacity to protect ourselves as decided today in parliament and we are preparing to defend ourselves," Ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev said on CNN's "State of the Union."

"If aggravation is going in that way, when the Russian troops are enlarging their quantity with every coming hour, naturally we will ask for military support and other kind of support."

Sergeyev asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to pull back in observance of the Orthodox Church's holy season of Lent, which starts on Monday.

"If he demonstrates his Christianity, rather than preparing to kill us, he should pray for us," Sergeyev said.

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Will Dunham and Frances Kerry)