MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. Further peace talks with Ukraine are impossible after the most intense strike on Donetsk since 2014, inflicted by Ukraine on Thursday, acting DPR head Denis Pushilin said on Russian TV.
"If we talk seriously, then there can be no talk about agreements with Kiev. First, Kiev is not independent. We’ve learned that during the Minsk talks. Second, it also does not seem possible to count on guarantors of agreements, whoever they may be. We’ve seen the recent statement by [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel, who effectively confessed in actions, aimed at non-implementation of the Minsk Agreements. The level of trust for European states is close to zero," he said.
According to Pushilin, the DPR see no objective preconditions to talk about negotiations with the US as well.
"Washington is complacent with both this conflict and the gradual loss of Europe’s economic potential, who gradually stops being the US’ competitor even in theory. So, there is no one to negotiate with, we only have to win [on the battlefield]. There are no other ways to stop this conflict, these shellings, war crimes of the Kiev regime and its accomplices - the Western states," the official noted.
He noted that, if in 2014-2015, only the outskirts of Donetsk were shelled, today, the entire territory of the city is being targeted by massive strikes.
Pushilin also noted that about 1 million people currently live in Donetsk.
"If we count the Donetsk agglomeration, which is also being shelled - Makeyevka, Gorlovka, Yasinovataya - then the approximate population reaches 1.5 million people," the acting head said.
He reiterated that artillery strikes will stop only after Donetsk becomes unreachable for Ukrainian artillery.
"We cannot count on anything else. These are outright war criminals, who will definitely shell and harm civilians, if they can. So only the efforts of our boys, who liberate our land with weapons in their hands, can help stop the shelling of Donetsk," he underscored.