Ukrainian army is not preparing offensive in Donbas but can deter enemy if Minsk deal breached

12:23, 21.01.2016 1 min read

The Ukrainian army is prepared for a change of tactics by the Donbas militia and can deter a possible offensive, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak has said.

"We demand that the Minsk agreements be strictly fulfilled, and we are fulfilling them ourselves. As for the activity of the terrorist group, as you know, it is very hard to predict. But we are preparing for a change of their tactics, we are ready, and we will not wait for them to launch an offensive. If they breach the Minsk agreements and behave in an aggressive fashion, launch an offensive, we will be able to deter them," Poltorak told reporters in Minsk on Thursday.

He underlined that the Ukrainian army was not preparing an offensive itself. "I have not said that we are preparing an offensive, I have said that we are ready to deter the enemy if it [launches] an offensive," the Ukrainian defense minister said.