Ukraine intends to protect human rights and its assets in Crimea and to eventually regain control over the peninsula, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.

"There are a number of steps we need to take and on which we will be insisting with the purpose of regaining Crimea," Poroshenko said in an interview with Pershyi Natsionalnyi Channel on Monday night.

The president said they would be protecting rights of Ukrainians residing in Crimea in the first turn. "We need to protect every Ukrainian tortured by Russian security services: a Crimean Tatar, a Ukrainian activist or a cleric of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate. This is the first priority I have set for the Foreign Ministry, the security services, the government and the others," the chief of state said.

In addition, Ukraine will insist on protecting its assets in Crimea, both government-owned and corporate, he said. "On my orders, the Justice Ministry and the government will work out, in particular, with the assistance of foreign legal experts, and start to implement their tactics in legal defense of Ukrainian interests," the president said.

It is also important to take away all Ukrainian weapons left in Crimea, the Ukrainian leader continued. "We need to take away all weapons left in Crimea, and we will be insisting on this," Poroshenko said.

Kyiv will be reinforcing the border with Crimea in order to prevent incursions of saboteurs, reconnaissance groups, terrorists and other threats, he underlined.

"Most importantly, we should demonstrate that life is much better on this side [of the border with] with occupied territory. People are already coming to realize [the true nature of the situation]," Poroshenko stated.