KIEV: Ukraine hopes to complete the “active phase” of its military offensive against pro-Russian rebels in east Ukraine over the next month, the country’s army chief said in an interview published today.
“The active phase will be finished in the near future... probably in less than a month,” chief of staff Viktor Muzhenko told weekly magazine Novoye Vremya.
Government forces have claimed a string of victories in recent weeks as they seized back control of a number of key towns from separatist insurgents.
The United Nations says that some 1,100 people have been killed since the start of Kiev’s “anti-terrorist” operations in the eastern regions in mid-April.
Ukraine’s military today called a day-long halt to its offensive across the east following a plea from UN chief Ban Ki-moon to pause fighting in order to allow a stalled probe into the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 to go ahead.
-- AFP