Chief of the General Command of Ukrainian Armed Forces Viktor Muzhenko has said that an adequate response to Russia's invasion and elimination of Ukrainian bases near Ilovaisk (Donetsk region) might have caused a full-scale war with Russia.

"As for Ilovaisk, the investigation goes on. All the circumstances are being investigated there, so let them figure out how much information came in, what kind, from which services, to whom and when. Yes, there was some information on possible presence of regular detachments of Russian armed forces, but the personnel didn't have insignias, and this information wasn't confirmed. And without the confirmation, an adequate response from us on the border line or even across the border might have led to a full-scale war against Russia that would consider itself an attacked party," Muzhenko said in an interview with Dzerkalo Tuzhnia weekly.

According to him, last summer 90% of the intelligence data in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) wasn't confirmed.

"This is explained by particularly active operation on misinforming us by the opposing party. A total of 20-30-cm wide piles of in fact fake information that often contradicted itself were delivered to me. Out of all this massive [information] only trustworthy facts demanding attention were analyzed, which is approximately 20-15%," he said.

Muzhenko was asked that considering the fact that the invasion of Russian troops took place in summer 2014, why did the Chief of general Command say in January 2015 that the Ukrainian army wasn't fighting regular Russian troops.

His response was "When I made that statement, we only had confirmation of participation of separate detachment of Russian armed forces in the military actions. But I noted that Russian troops were in the second echelons and entered the battle during critical situations. Then there were clashes near Lohvinove with Russian tanks, clashes in Nikishyne and Ridkodub districts. Detachment of regular Russian troops were introduced, particular the marines in Chernukhine district and Spetsnaz directly in Debaltseve."

"I'm responsible for the decisions I made, including those that led to losses. I feel my responsibility and possible a part of the guilt for the deaths of every serviceman," Muzhenko said.

In August, 2015, Deputy Prosecutor General and Chief Military Prosecutor of Ukraine Anatoliy Matios said that the losses of Ukrainian soldiers near Ilovaisk amounted to 366 killed: 209 names and 157 as yet unidentified dead bodies. A total of 429 were wounded in the events that occurred near Ilovaisk, Donetsk region, in August 2014. A total of 128 people were captured and 158 remain listed as missing.

According to Matios, the casualties were a result of the enemy's considerable advantage in numbers and equipment.

As reported, Ukrainian investigators have found enough evidence to suspect Head of General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov of direct involvement in worsening the conflict in eastern Ukraine.