The Russian Federation must influence illegal armed groups in the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas in order to stop the shelling, because only Russia has an influence over them, as stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a press conference in Kyiv.
The Head of State noted that the statements of the illegal armed groups’ representatives about the shelling of civilian objects by the Armed Forces of Ukraine are not true.
"For a month and a half, dozens of OSCE vehicles heading to that (occupied - ed.) territory are not allowed there. And they say that the OSCE records that we shoot at civilians. We do not shoot at Ukrainians. All we do is respond to the actions of militants," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
At the same time, the President noted that he had never called for non-response to the shelling by the illegal armed groups.
"I wanted to show the whole world that we have a very strong army. But we do not provoke. We fight for our country. If we are shot at, we will respond. But we will not be the first to shoot," he said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed that after the statements of the militants, the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG convenes an urgent meeting in the Minsk format.
"I am convinced and believe that it is only the Russian Federation that has an influence over them. And they must influence them," the President said.
According to the President, in terms of information, the provocations of the militants are directed against Ukraine.
"Today they are accusing us of a humanitarian crisis. We provide water there - we do not block it, despite the fact that they have not paid for this water for a long time," he said.
