Secretary of National Security and Defense Counsil of Ukraine (NSDC) Oleksandr Turchynov, who on April 14, 2014, being acting president of Ukraine, signed a decree on the beginning of an Anti-Terrorist operation (ATO) in the east of the country, has said he would have done everything in a similar way, knowing about the results now.

"I've been analyzing the situation many times, reviewing those events in my mind again and again, thinking what else could have been done. I do not know. Perhaps, I would make this way again, because you can do a lot when you have the relevant tools. When you have regiments, you can be a commander. And when you have nothing, but only a huge responsibility, then there are not so many options," Turchynov said in an interview with the BBC, answering a question about whether he would have done something else, knowing about the results of the decisions taken in the spring of 2014.

Predicting the completion of the ATO, the NSDC secretary said: "We have no alternative but to win. Last year was the first victory when we did not surrender a single meter of our land, but on the contrary, got tens of kilometers. So, I think our task is meter by meter, kilometer by kilometer, minimizing losses, move towards the east. The main thing is not to cross the border (laughing)."