Ukraine is informally developing as a federation, as alternative government bodies have been set up in a number of regions, in the view of Andrei Vorobyov, minister-counselor of the Russian Embassy to Kyiv.

"I am sure that, regardless of political wishes, the country is developing toward federalization. Whether it will be formally stipulated by the constitution or whether it will formally remain to be a unitary state, but informally it is already a federation," Vorobyov said at debates the 'Federalization of Ukraine: From Split to Unity' in Kyiv on Wednesday.

The talk about Ukraine's federalization has been continuing for a long time, but the country has been living as a federation in the past three months, Vorobyov said. "Speaking to [Kharkiv regional administration head] Mykhailo Dobkin recently, I heard from him a phrase that, in my view, is quite truthful: Ukraine has been living as a federation in the past three months. And this actually looks true, because alternative government bodies have been set up on a part of the country's territory," he said.

Vorobyov pointed out that the priority now is to resolve the crisis in a peaceful way, and Russia is interested in a peaceful settlement through negotiations.