KIEV, July 09, /ITAR-TASS/. The Ukrainian army and National Guard units will successfully end the operation to assume control over Donetsk and Lugansk within a month, Ukrainian interior minister’s adviser Stanislav Rechinsky told Ukraina Television on Wednesday.

“The military operation has continued successfully in the past few days,” Rechinsky said.

Hundreds of people have been killed, buildings destroyed and tens of thousands forced to flee Ukraine to Russia as a result of Kiev’s military operation against federalization supporters in Ukraine’s embattled southeast involving armored vehicles, heavy artillery and attack aviation, which has been conducted since mid-April.

The Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which border on Russia, held referendums on May 11, in which most voters supported independence from Ukraine.