Following a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council on June 30, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has decided to end the unilateral ceasefire in Donbass.

"Thus, the term of the ceasefire announced by the president on June 20 and extended until 2200 Kyiv time on June 30 is considered as expired," the presidential press service reported.

In his address to the nation, posted on the president's official Web site, Poroshenko said that "the unique chance of the implementation of [his] peace plan hasn't been realized."

"We will be attacking and liberating our land. The end of the ceasefire is our response to terrorists, rebels, looters, all those who mock the civilians, who paralyze the economy of the region, who sabotage the payment of salaries, pensions, educational allowances, who blast railroads, destroy water pipes, those who have already deprived people of a normal peaceful life," the president said.

Militants have violated the truce by more than a hundred times since the ceasefire was announced.

"Separatists' political leaders have demonstrated unwillingness and inability to control their terrorist units and gangs of looters," Poroshenko said.

The defense of Ukraine's territorial integrity, safety and lives of civilians requires not only defensive, but also offensive actions against terrorists and militants.

"The Armed Forces, the National Guard, the State Border Service, the Security Service have been given corresponding orders. The implementation of the tasks set today to defend the territorial integrity is no longer limited by the ceasefire," the address to the nation reads.

Yet, the president assured that the Ukrainian troops "will never allow themselves to use force against civilians."

"I appeal to every resident in Donetsk and Luhansk regions with the request to treat my decision with understanding. I ask [everybody] to become an ally for restoring security in Donbas," the president said.

Poroshenko said he guaranteed that all those who will voluntarily lay down their arms would be exempt from criminal liability.

Poroshenko also stressed that his peace plan as a strategy for Ukraine and Donbas remained in force.

"Disarmament and decentralization, the free use of the Russian language, the rebuilding of lost housing at the expense of the state and a joint program with the European Union for the creation of new jobs, and even the ceasefire – all these issues we're ready to return to at any moment when we see that all parties start to observe the implementation of the major clauses of the peace plan," Poroshenko said.