Ukrainian General: Kyiv has a plan for liberation of Donbas
The Lieutenant General of Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence, Vasily Bogdan stated in an interview with the news outlet Fakty that Ukraine has a plan to liberate the territories of the Donbas which are held by the pro-Russian militants, and the country’s leadership hopes this will be achieved without the use of force.
“As far as I know, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces prepared a plan for the return of Donbas to Ukraine. A military operation is also being considered. However, Ukraine will firstly put forth an effort to settle the situation through diplomatic means. We will use a military operation as a last resort,” he said.
At the same time, the general refused to answer a question regarding the circumstances that could cause the start of a military offensive.
On December 19th, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stated that the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions not under Ukraine’s control would soon be returned to Ukrainian jurisdiction.
Earlier, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksandr Turchynov said the law on reintegration of the Donbas “does not eliminate a military method of liberating the occupied territories and creates prerequisites for this”.