DONETSK, January 24. /TASS/. Ukraine continues its attempts to destabilize the situation in Donbass and is actively preparing to resolve the conflict by force, Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) People’s Militia deputy head Eduard Basurin stated Monday.

"Ukraine not only continues its attempts to destabilize the situation in Donbass by shelling settlements, and preparations are well underway to resolve the conflict by force. The People’s Militia command strongly urges its adversary to drop its criminal intents," says the emergency statement, published in the People’s Militia’s Telegram channel.

The People’s Militia registered Ukrainian Armed Forces’ (UAF) inside the Kiev’ force operation in Donbass preparing for an offensive. According to Basurin, the Ukrainian command is pulling the UR-77 self-propelling minesweepers to the contact line, and military vehicles are being prepared for combat. Vacations for all personnel in individual battalions and brigades have been suspended, while all commanders were ordered to remain in their temporary deployment locations. In addition, commissions arrived in tank battalions from brigade headquarters to supervise the preparation of weapons and combat vehicles.

The DPR intelligence also obtained information about the formation of armored brigades deeper in Ukrainian territory and their dispatch to Donbass. Furthermore, Ukraine is relocating forces from their permanent deployment location in the Odessa region, disguised as a "planned tactical special exercise." All these facts confirm that the UAF is preparing for aggression against the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Basurin says.

The People’s Militia stated that it will provide a response, should Kiev commence the forceful resolution of the Donbass conflict, and it will cause irreparable damage to the UAF.

"Acts of Ukrainian aggression against the DPR and LPR will not be left without an appropriate reaction. The Ukrainian army will suffer irreparable damage that it will not recover from," Basurin said, calling on Ukrainian servicemen to "reject taking part in hostilities and executing the criminal orders of their command.".