Moscow warns Kiev over new offensive in eastern Ukraine
A Russian official has warned Ukraine over its attempt to use military force to solve the crisis in its eastern regions, saying it may lead to irreversible consequences for the country's territorial integrity.
Grigory Karasin, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, made the remarks on Monday amid Kiev’s latest offensive against pro-Russian forces in Ukraine’s volatile eastern regions.
"It's the biggest, even strategic mistake of the Ukrainian authorities to bank on a military solution to the crisis in Ukrainian society and to all of southeast Ukraine's problems,” said Karasin, adding, “This can lead to irreversible consequences for Ukrainian statehood."
Earlier on Monday, the Russian foreign ministry urged Ukrainian authorities to pull their heavy weapons out of the restive eastern region, saying pro-Russian forces had already agreed on a roadmap on an arms pullout.
The issue of removing arms from the war-torn area is a key point that both sides agreed on in the Minsk ceasefire deal signed last September aimed at ending the heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine. However, the truce has been violated almost daily by both the Ukrainian military and pro-Russia forces.
This comes as Kiev authorities launched a large-scale offensive last week against pro-Russian forces in the eastern Donetsk region. Heavy fighting has taken place in and around Donetsk International Airport and in the city of Gorlovka and a number of other settlements.
Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in the east have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations to silence pro-Russia protests there in mid-April 2014.
According to the latest figures released by the United Nations, around 5,000 people have been killed in the fighting.
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