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Ukraine to continue military operation: Official

Iran Press TV

Fri Apr 18, 2014 2:50PM GMT

Ukraine's state security authorities say the ongoing military operation against protesters in the eastern parts of the country will continue despite a recent four-party agreement reached in Geneva.

Marina Ostapenko, a spokeswoman for Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU), said Friday that Kiev is not halting its "anti-terrorist operation" in eastern Ukraine, despite the calls for de-escalation of tensions, stated in the Geneva agreement.

'The anti-terrorist operation is still going on and how long it continues depends on how long terrorists remain in our country,' said Ostapenko.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian forces reportedly attacked checkpoints set up by pro-Russian protesters in Serheyevka village in Slavyanskaya district of Donetsk region.

The developments come a day after Kiev's interim government together with the United States, Russia and the European Union reached a deal calling for all sides to refrain from any violence and all seized government buildings to be vacated, among others.

On April 15, Kiev launched massive military operations against pro-Russian activists in the country's eastern cities after protesters defied an April 14 deadline set by the Ukrainian government to lay down arms and leave occupied state buildings, among others.

Meanwhile, pro-Moscow activists continue to occupy government, police and other administrative buildings in over a dozen cities close to the Russian border. Protesters have been demanding local referendums on either independence or integration into Russia.

Denis Pushilin, a spokesman of the self-appointed Donetsk People's Republic, said Friday that protesters would only leave the seized buildings if the interim Kiev government resigns.

Pro-Russia protests gained momentum in the eastern parts of Ukraine after Crimea declared independence from the former Soviet state and formally applied to become part of the Russian Federation following a referendum on March 16, in which almost 97 percent of the participants voted for joining Russia.

CAH/AB