Ukrainian military on the contact line in Donetsk regionKIEV, Feb. 3Ukraine does not plan any attack on the Donbass or Crimea, Kiev is not going to «conquer» anyone, since the life of Ukrainians is at stake, Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov said on Thursday. Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier expressed concern that after joining the NATO Ukraine will try to return the Crimea by force. In his opinion, in this case, the Russian Federation will have to fight with the entire alliance.Kiev has restricted the exit of draft-age citizens from the country, the DPR said, «Ukraine is not planning any offensive either in the Donbass or in Crimea. We are only talking about a political and diplomatic platform for resolving this armed international conflict with the Russian Federation. I want to reassure everyone in Moscow: Today, no one plans to conquer anyone, because this is the life of people, first of all, the life of Ukrainians,» Reznikov said at a briefing. Commenting on Putin's statements about an attempt to return Crimea by force, the minister noted: causes, probably, some kind of personal phobia. «Crimea became a Russian region in March 2014 following a referendum after a coup d'état in Ukraine. In the referendum, 96.77% of voters in Crimea and 95.6% in Sevastopol voted for joining Russia. Ukraine still considers Crimea its own, but temporarily occupied territory, many Western countries support Kiev in this. The Russian leadership has repeatedly stated that the inhabitants of Crimea democratically, in full accordance with international law and the UN Charter, voted for reunification with Russia. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the issue of Crimea is «finally closed».The DPR said that Kiev is preparing for active hostilities in the DonbassIn April 2014, the Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR, which declared independence after the coup in Kiev in February 2014. According to the latest UN data, about 13 thousand people became victims of the conflict. The issue of resolving the situation in Donbass is being discussed, including during meetings of the contact group. However, even after the ceasefire agreements, skirmishes continue, in the DPR and LPR they announced shelling of residential areas by Ukrainian heavy artillery. Moscow has repeatedly stated that Kiev does not comply with the Minsk agreements and drags out negotiations to resolve the conflict. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that Kiev sent half of the entire personnel of the armed forces of Ukraine to the Donbass. Moscow expressed concern about the transfer of military equipment from NATO countries to the Russian borders and the increase in the number of Western instructors in the Donbass. Western countries continue to provide military support to Ukraine, including by supplying weapons that are used in the Donbass.
