Anti-terrorist operation forces not storming residential areas, want to avoid civilian casualties - Avakov

15:00, 05.05.2014 1 min read

The forces involved in the anti-terrorist operation in east Ukraine are not storming residential areas and want to avoid civilian casualties, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has said.

"We are not storming residential quarters using the anti-terrorist operation forces and set the restriction not to attack areas where there are civilians," he told reporters on Monday at the entrance to Sloviansk, Donetsk region.

He said that this significantly hinders the pace of the anti-terrorist operation.

"We are bound hand and foot due to the fact that civilians are everywhere. Someone supports us, someone does not - it does not matter: Ukrainian military cannot shoot at civilians. This is a restriction, which the enemy actively uses: the enemy is hiding behind their backs and shooting from there," Avakov said.