Ukrainian army not planning offensive in Donbas - Ukrainian Armed Forces commander
KYIV. Feb 18 (Interfax) - Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander Valeriy Zaluzhny has called on the people living in the parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions not controlled by Kyiv not to believe rumors that Ukrainian forces are planning an offensive.
"I am addressing the residents of the temporarily occupied territories: don't believe the falsehoods circulated by the occupation authorities! You're being used for escalating the situation [...] The allegation that sabotage groups from the [Ukrainian] Joint Forces planned to blow up chlorine at sewerage facilities in Horlivka are absolutely untrue," Zaluzhny wrote on Facebook.
"The statements [...] alleging that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are planning an offensive and the liberation of the temporarily occupied territories by force are untrue. The information presented by me has also been confirmed by the OSCE. I am reiterating that the state's military-political leadership is not planning and is not conducting offensive operations in eastern Ukraine," he said.
The only option Ukraine views as acceptable for de-occupying Ukrainian people and territories is a political-diplomatic one, he said.
"An offensive operation in Donbas would definitely cause numerous civilian casualties, and therefore, such scenarios are not even under consideration," he said.
While Ukraine's opponents have committed numerous ceasefire violations along the line of contact in Donbas, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have returned fire only when the lives of military personnel or civilians were threatened, he said.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov also said later on Friday that Kyiv is not planning any offensive.
"We are not planning any offensive, because this could endanger our citizens in the temporarily occupied territories," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry quoted Reznikov as saying.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces stand ready to oppose the enemy, but "will act in line with the agreements and will not create danger to the people in any circumstances," he said.