The President's Office in Ukraine hopes that the recent escalation in Donbas will not critically affect the ongoing negotiation process on halting fire.
That's according to the president's press secretary, Yulia Mendel, who spoke in a show "View from Bankova" on Dom TV.
"We understand that the number of attacks has increased. There are a number of political and economic reasons for this. In general, we hope this will not critically affect the negotiation process on a global and comprehensive ceasefire. After all, it's during our Donbas visits that we hear most often pleas for peace," Mendel said.
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"Being strong isn't about being able to wage war. Being strong is about being able to stop the horrors of war. Therefore, Ukraine chooses the form of dialogue," said the president's press secretary.
Mendel also recalled the statistics on ceasefire violations, noting that over the five weeks prior to the start of the latest ceasefire agreement (on Jul7 27), the OSCE had recorded more than 18,000 breaches, while only over a thousand violations were reported after the deal was enforced.