Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says peace in the zone of the anti-terrorist operation in Ukraine's east will not be achieved at the expense of the country's sovereignty or territorial integrity.

"Steps towards peace cannot be unilateral. They cannot be made at the expense of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine," he said at festivities on the 23rd anniversary of Ukraine's independence in Kyiv on August 24.

In this context, he said Ukraine highly values the support of its foreign partners – the United States, the European Union, and others states. "…the whole world – from Canada to Australia, from Sweden to Japan – is with us," he said.

He said Ukrainian diplomacy is doing "everything possible and impossible" to find a political way of settling the situation in the east of the country. "The destruction of the Malaysian airliner by terrorists, the murder of Lithuania's honorary consul, the arrival of international mercenaries assisting the terrorists are yet further proof that the aggression against Ukraine has gone beyond bilateral relations. It is ruining the foundations of the world order, raping international law, endangering European and global security," the president said.

Poroshenko notes "an attempt has been made to cross the borders of a sovereign Ukraine" in the very heart of Europe in the 21st century. "The world seems to have returned to the 1930s, when World War II was looming. In a week's time, it will be 75 years since it began. We marked the beginning of World War I a month ago, and we must not allow World War III," Poroshenko said.