The Ukrainian armed forces should be ready for any developments in the eastern part of the country, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said.

"A number of agreements were achieved in Minsk the other day, particularly those on withdrawing 100-mm artillery guns and 82-mm mortars from the separation line. The withdrawal of weapons is continuing. Ukraine is strictly abiding by all provisions of the Minsk agreements and is ready to work further on this," Poltorak said at an expanded session of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry board on Thursday.

At the same time, Poltorak said he doubted that "the Russian Federation had abandoned its aggressive designs in relation to Ukraine."

"Therefore, we should use the time that we have as efficiently as possible, namely, to take systemic measures to improve the combat capability and combat efficiency of our military units and groups, modernize our hardware and weapons, improve the training of our personnel and its comprehensive support, enhance military discipline, and prepare the personnel and hardware for performing combat duties in the winter period. We should reinforce our troops and the training system and be ready for any situation in case the Minsk agreements are not fulfilled," he said.