LONDON, February 15. /TASS/. Russia will not invade Ukraine, unless the Kiev regime resorts to provocations that would hurt Russian citizens, Russian Permanent Representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said in an interview for The Guardian.

"We will not invade Ukraine unless we are provoked to do that," he said. "If the Ukrainians launch an attack against Russia, you shouldn’t be surprised if we counterattack. Or, if they start blatantly killing Russian citizens anywhere - Donbass or wherever."

"What I mean by provocation is that they [Ukraine - TASS] may stage an incident against the self-proclaimed Donbas republics, provoking them, and then hitting them with all their might, thus provoking Russia to react in order to avoid humanitarian catastrophe on its borders," he added.

Recently, claims of Russia’s potential invasion in Ukraine have become frequent in Ukraine and Western states. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called such reports empty and groundless escalation of tensions, underscoring that Russia does not pose any threat to anyone. Peskov noted that provocations may happen in order to justify such claims and warned that such attempts will bear the most serious consequences.