MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. Ukraine’s authorities need to take serious steps forward to settle the crisis in Donbass, Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"Of course, serious steps forward are needed," Zakharova said, stressing that Kiev needs to implement the Minsk agreements which were signed by Ukraine’s president.

"This is exactly what is needed now - the thorough implementation of those commitments that Ukraine needs itself," she said. "Especially if Kiev considers Donbass and the population of that territory as the citizens of a single country," Zakharova added.