“In the case where the peaceful negotiation format fails to yield results, we will have no other option,” Turchynov was cited as saying by the Ukrainian National News agency.
According to Turchynov, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is doing everything he can in order to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, however, as the Supreme Commander of Ukraine’s Armed Forces the president “will not hesitate even for a minute when he feels that there is no other way than active military action.”
An armed conflict has raged in Ukraine since the spring, when Kiev-led forces began a military operation, aimed at curbing the region’s independence movement.
Residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces in eastern Ukraine established people’s republics that later announced their independence, following a February coup in Kiev.
Kiev and the Donbas independence supporters agreed on a shaky truce in Minsk in September, with ceasefire violations being subsequently reported by both sides. A new round of Minsk talks was held earlier this week, with more meetings expected to take place in the upcoming weeks.
