View of the embankment in Yalta. Archival photoKYIV, Feb. 4 Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov said on the air of the 1+1 TV channel that it is currently impossible for Kiev to obtain Crimea by military means. Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, on the air of the 1+1 TV channel, said that the Ukrainian authorities did not develop plans to send troops to the territory of Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea.
"For us, the issue of Crimea has not been resolved, this is our land, and we will calmly do everything so that Crimea, as well as the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, return home. And we will definitely do it. How, it will depend on us. We have all the legal documents, our strategies. Do we have a strategy to return Crimea by military means? Now we have a strategy to return the Crimea. How, whether it will be a military path, whether it will be any other path, it depends on many factors. Today I can say that this is impossible to do. How it will be tomorrow or in a year, we will see, this is not such a simple matter", — said Danilov.
He clarified that the return of the territories of Donbass not controlled by Kiev is impossible by military means, as this will entail a large number of victims. In 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 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. Crimea became a Russian region after a referendum held there in March 2014, in which 96.77% of Crimean voters and 95.6% of Sevastopol residents voted for joining the Russia. Ukraine still considers Crimea its own, but temporarily occupied territory. 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».