The head of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, has said that the situation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions remains complex because of the position of the civilian population of these regions.

"Today we made a clear report in parliament that the situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions is very serious because their civilian population, the people who live there, are under serious influences and do not entirely trust the efforts of the law enforcement authorities, the SBU and the Defense Ministry, which, under the decision by the National Security and Defense Council, are aimed exclusively at eliminating terrorists," Nalyvaichenko said at a briefing after a closed-doors parliamentary session on Tuesday.

All hostilities as part of the security operation are conducted with maximum restraint to avoid civilian deaths, he added.

"We also reported to the parliament that up to 30 heavily armed militants have been eliminated during the antiterrorist operation over the last few days," Nalyvaichenko said.

The Ukrainian security forces have sustained losses too, said the SBU chief, without specifying their number.