Donetsk and the rest of the Donbas region must not be targeted in air strikes, and talks must be held instead, Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov has said.

"No bombs must be dropped on Donetsk. Neither the city, nor the settlements, nor the infrastructure must be destroyed. And, most important, people must not die, or suffer," Akhmetov said in an interview with Ukraina Channel on Sunday.

Asked how the conflict in Donbas could be resolved, he said: "Talks must be held again, again and again. There is no other way. All will end in talks and in peace."

Akhmetov said he was confident that peace can be restored in Donbas. "Donbas must be part of a united Ukraine," he said.

"We, people of Donbas, will be happy if we are respected, if our memory is respected, if respect is shown for our right to speak the Russian language, for our holidays, for our traditions and for our ambitions. I think Donbas will only be a happy place to live in when it is part of a united Ukraine," Akhmetov said.