KYIV: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan headed to Kyiv Thursday in an effort to mediate the crisis with Russia, as EU leaders stepped up outreach to the Kremlin to defuse fears Moscow could invade Ukraine. The diplomatic offensive came as the United States kept up the pressure on Russia by announcing it was bolstering NATO’s eastern flank by sending 1,000 soldiers to Romania and 2,000 to Poland. As Moscow refuses to pull back over 100,000 troops from Ukraine’s borders, the leaders of European powerhouses Germany and France said they were eyeing possible visits to Russian President Vladimi…