MOSCOW, July 10. /ITAR-TASS/. Moscow expects Kiev to hear the conclusions of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) on the situation in the southeast of Ukraine and to take urgent steps to deescalate violence. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said this on Thursday.

“The OCHA’s report points to the necessity of urgent actions, first and foremost on the part of central and regional authorities of Ukraine, to provide for primary needs of the population, first of all regarding water and medical assistance,” the ministry said.

“We expect the Kiev authorities to […] ensure the soonest possible start of talks on a ceasefire and normalization of the humanitarian situation,” it said.

The example of Crimea — a region that did not recognize the authorities imposed during a coup in Ukraine in February and seceded from the country to accede to Russia in March — apparently inspired residents of Ukraine’s south-east, who supported the country’s federalization. The residents started massive protests and formed militias.

Since mid-April, Kiev has been conducting a punitive operation against federalization supporters in Ukraine's war-torn south-eastern regions, which involves armored vehicles, heavy artillery and attack aviation.

As a result, hundreds of people have died, buildings have been destroyed and tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee Ukraine. After a brief ceasefire announced by President Petro Poroshenko on June 20 and terminated on June 30, military attacks of the pro-Kiev forces on the country’s southeastern regions resumed.