International sanctions against Russia should be strengthened until Crimea is liberated and Russian troops are removed from the east of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksandr Turchynov has said.

"The ceasefire has been violated on more than 1,000 occasions only since the beginning of September. Our military continue to die as a result of this shelling and provocations, and there are a lot of civilian casualties. Therefore, for the international community the question is not about lifting sanctions from Russia, but about strengthening them until the complete removal of Russian troops and Russian mercenaries from the east of Ukraine and the liberation of the Moscow-seized Crimea," he said at a meeting with the heads of parliaments of European countries in Kyiv on Friday.

He said that Ukraine would be grateful for the European countries' support for the initiatives to strengthen sanctions against Russia and for the decisions to help and rebuild Donbas.