MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. Russia will continue to upscale support for Donbass, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters at an annual news conference on Thursday.

"We, Russia, will support Donbass the way we did before. We will even build up our support for Donbass. That concerns support for production, solving social problems, infrastructure issues and so on," the head of state said.

"Without a doubt, you may rest assured that we realize the complexity of the situation in Donbass," Putin stressed responding to a question on the issue. "I repeat that not only will we [continue to provide] humanitarian assistance. We will continue to do so as far as direct cooperation is concerned."