Russian chief security official warns Kiev against resuming warfare

MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. Russian Security Council’s Secretary Nikolay Patrushev has warned Kiev authorities against resuming hostilities in eastern regions of Ukraine. 

"Both Ukraine and the forces currently governing the country from the outside should realize that the resumption of hostilities leads to further decline in the Ukrainian economy, a greater number of hostilities, destruction of infrastructure and affects negatively the regional and international situation," he told reporters.

Patrushev noted that "the Ukrainian authorities were attempting time and again to resolve the problem of Donbas by force." "The truce in Ukraine signed in Minsk in February is not observed by Kiev," he said. "Kiev uses heavy weapons, which should have long been withdrawn from the line of contact." Patrushev said the solution of the problem by force had no prospects, it "only leads to new victims among civilians."

According to the Secretary of the Security Council, the official Kiev is not trying to find a way out of the situation. Moreover, "it justifies its actions by saying that Ukraine is fighting for its sovereignty and integrity as well as for freedom, democracy and security in the entire Europe." "It is impossible not to notice a characteristic detail - as soon as the progress in the peaceful settlement is in the offing, as soon as a chance emerges to achieve a political agreement, the forces interested in the disruption of the peace process and the continuation of war immediately step up their activities," Patrushev added.

Patrushev pointed out that the Normandy Four should continue efforts on the Ukrainian conflict resolution.

"It is necessary to provide the necessary conditions for the fulfillment of Minsk agreements aimed at the step-by-step conflict settlement," he said.

Kiev's grouping of troops built up to 90,000 ahead of offensive

The situation in east Ukraine has escalated throughout the recent weeks. 

According to the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic, on August 20 the grouping of pro-Kiev armed units in eastern Ukraine totaled 90,000 men and officers, 450 tanks, 203 salvo artillery units, and five Tochka-U missile complexes. The troops are concentrated in four sectors - Mariupol, Donetsk, Debaltsevo, and Luhansk.

The spokesman for the defense ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic said on Thursday that the militia have information that the Ukrainian armed forces are preparing an offensive in the Donetsk Region in east Ukraine.

"Information has been received about the plan of forthcoming actions by the Ukrainian army from a source in the Ukrainian General Staff and, no matter how strange this may seem, there are still true officers there who do not want to fight against their own people," Eduard Basurin said at a briefing in the press center of the Donetsk News Agency.

According to Basurin, the Ukrainian military will launch an offensive in the Mariupol and Debaltsevo directions after "artillery shelling of the DPR’s positions."

"Kiev plans to deliver two converging blows in the direction of the settlement of Uspenka to defeat the DPR and advance to the border with Russia and subsequently prevent civilians from reaching the Russian territory," Basurin said.

"Along with this, two groupings [of Kiev’s forces] are intended to launch an offensive in the Donetsk direction north and south of Donetsk towards Ilovaisk, close the circle around the republic’s capital and encircle the city," the spokesman said.

In the Luhansk direction, Kiev’s forces are planning to hold separate combat operations against the militia of the Luhansk People’s Republic to prevent their redeployment to provide support to the DPR, the spokesman said.

"Further on, active offensive operations will be launched in the Luhansk direction with the aim to advance to the border with Russia," Basurin said.