Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said Ukraine places stake on a politico-diplomatic path of returning the occupied territories to the sovereignty of Ukraine.

"The commander-in-chief must take into account all the factors: military, international, economic, and other. Therefore we stake on a politico-diplomatic way to return the temporarily occupied territories to the sovereignty of Ukraine," he said, speaking during the "First minute of peace" at the Museum of History of Ukraine in World War II.

He noted Ukraine spends almost one-fifth of the national budget on defense and security, while over two years it managed to build an army every Ukrainian can be proud of.

"The Armed Forces of Ukraine, having liberated most part of Donbas, are securely holding the line. We fulfill the Minsk Agreements, but our soldiers, where appropriate, receive the order to open fire in response. In a word, they repulse enemy provocations," Poroshenko said.

The president assured that Ukrainian diplomats are making every effort to continue sanctions against the Russian Federation imposed by the EU, the United States and other countries.

"From time to time some European countries declare the ineffectiveness of sanctions. Well, if someone considers them to be ineffective, they should not remove or mitigate them but continue and strengthen," the president added.