Mykhailo Koval: Over the last two years, the Russian-terrorist groupings have killed 10 thousand Ukrainians and wounded more than 20 thousand

Over the last two years, the Russian-terrorist groupings have killed 10 thousand Ukrainians and wounded more than 20 thousand. Around 1,8 million people were forced to leave their homes. This was stated by First Deputy to the Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine Mykhailo Koval in his speech at the seventh meeting of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, the Senate of the Republic of Poland.

Mr. Koval emphasized that in defiance of the Minsk agreements, Russian military place firing positions in residential neighborhoods of the occupied settlements and, using heavy weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements, continue to shell the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

He also added that the facts of disregard by the Russian occupation forces of the Minsk agreements in terms of the withdrawal of heavy weapons are constantly recorded. "From the beginning of 2016, 699 cases of the presence of tanks, artillery systems of over 100 mm caliber, MLRS's and mortars near the delimitation line have been confirmed. The particular danger is the return to the delimitation line of multiple launch rocket systems", - he stressed.

In addition, First Deputy to the Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine noted that Russian troops are preparing to resume active offensive actions in order to enter the administrative boundaries of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and to hack the land corridor to the Crimea. He added that "the imposed international sanctions against the Russian Federation remain effective, but are not sufficient to compel it to abandon the aggressive plans concerning Ukraine".

At the same time, Mykhailo Koval pointed out that "Ukraine bore the very first Russian blow. The strategic development of the situation in the East of our state shows that Russia's plans to create a puppet quasi-state, the so-called Novorossia, were ruined by Ukrainians".

He underscored that the mission of the return of Ukraine to Donbas and de-occupation of the Crimea are being solved primarily by political-diplomatic and international legal means, understanding that "the main value for us is the preservation of human life, the lives of our heroic warriors and civilians".

"For its part, the Ukrainian party is doing its best to ensure the implementation of the Minsk peace process. We stopped active hostilities and ensured the withdrawal of military equipment in accordance with the agreements reached", - he stated, adding that Ukraine is ready to further adhere to the declaratory stance regarding the need for peaceful resolution of the situation in Donbas, but will act adequately if required.