Acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deschytsia believes that Russia is carrying out "a veiled occupation" of eastern regions of Ukraine.

"What is currently happening in eastern Ukraine is a very veiled form of occupation. The Russian special forces operating in Ukraine are taking over buildings, which is presented as the protests by Ukrainian citizens," he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

He described the statements by representatives of the Russian Federation on the possible deployment of "peacekeepers" in Ukraine as provocation.

"We view them as provocation. After all, such a decision is made by the Russian side unilaterally and it is one of the scenarios that Russia has already implemented many times to excuse its aggression," the acting minister said.

In general, analyzing the possible deployment of a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, Deschytsia said that Kyiv is not planning to raise this issue yet.

"We are not initiating [this process], since the deployment of UN peacekeepers may take place only after the military conflict and not during it. Therefore there is no point in raising the mater of the possible deployment of UN peacekeepers," he said.

Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin said earlier that Russia has international legal grounds to send Russian peacekeepers to Ukraine if necessary, he noted that the use of peacekeepers in the country requires a UN Security Council resolution.