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Pro-Russia leader hints at force to take east Ukraine

Saturday, 18 February 2017 8:55 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 18 February 2017 11:32 AM ]

File photo of Alexander Zakharchenko, the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine

The leader of east Ukraine’s Russia-backed forces has threatened to drive out Ukrainian troops from the area if political measures to “free the occupied territories” do not bear fruit.

Alexander Zakharchenko declared that the pro-independence fighters intend to liberate the “occupied territories" in the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces through political means.

However, they may have to resort to military force if political efforts fail to achieve results, said the commander who is the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow said Zakharchenko's statement defied the 2015 Minsk agreement between Ukraine and pro-Russia forces, but added that it came in reaction to tensions provoked by Kiev’s actions.

On Friday, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko warned Western governments during the Munich Security Conference in Germany against any "appeasement" of Moscow.

Poroshenko insisted that cutting a bilateral deal with Russia on his country would only lead to further deterioration of armed clashes in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko attends a panel discussion on the first day of the 53rd Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Feb. 17, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Poroshenko also stated that the new administration of US president Donald Trump has a "historic chance" to halt "Russian expansionism" in Ukraine.

"I hear increasingly obsessive calls for at least some degree of appeasement toward Russia's appetite. To move in that direction would be naive, wrong and dangerous — not only for Ukraine, but also for Europe and for the world," he said.

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"This is an absolutely historic chance for all of us, but above all this is a historic chance for the new US administration and solid trans-Atlantic unity," he added.

The Ukrainian leader, however, also told the conference that he had been reassured of Western unity and solidarity earlier in the day by the new US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The development comes as some European nations remain concerned over Washington’s position towards Moscow under Trump amid persisting reports of a more cooperative relationship.

Nearly 10,000 people have perished in eastern Ukraine since April 2014 during fighting between government forces and the pro-independence forces backed by Russia. Fighting escalated for several days earlier this month, the worst outbreak of armed clashes since the 2015 truce deal.

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