DONETSK, February 1. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko ordered to attack the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) when he realized the failure of his policy on the global arena, the DPR head said.
"Ukraine started hostilities only because Russia and the United States started to search for common ground. And, haveing understood that Kiev may get nothing, Poroshenko ordered to launch an offensive on the Donetsk People’s Republic," the Donetsk news agency quoted Alexander Zakharchenko as saying.
He described the current situation in the conflict zone as difficult.
"The fighting is intense. Ukraine suffers great loss. But we will not let the enemy to break through," Zakharchenko said.
In the past two days, armed clashes intensified near the town of Avdeyevka and the settlement of Yasinovataya close to the line separating the areas controlled by the Kiev government and the self-proclaimed republics of eastern Ukraine. The Kiev government blamed the eastern Ukrainian militia for the escalation of the conflict, and Poroshenko claimed he had to cut short his visit to Germany, although the official program of the journey was over by that time.
However, according to the military authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Ukrainian servicemen started their offense as early as Sunday evening, but had to withdraw to their initial positions due to fierce resistance.
The UN Security Council held a closed session to discuss the issue on the Kiev government’s request Monday. According to Kiev’s permanent UN envoy, the Ukrainian side circulated among the council’s members a draft press statement calling for an immediate end to the hostilities.
A similar call was voiced earlier by Russia, Brussels, the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, a number of European countries, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United States. UN Secretary general spokesman Stephane Dujarric also called for an immediage ceasefire, adding that the resumption of hostilities are a direct breach of the Minsk reconciliation accords.