The Ukrainian side continues negotiations on the establishment of a truce in the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) zone in Donbas, said President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.

"The process of peace negotiations is not easy. But no one expected it to be easy. It always hurts when we lose our people. Each message of death is given with pain to families, relatives, all Ukrainians and me as president. That is why we do not stop and agree on truce as about the fastest tactical step. Our strategy is necessarily peace and the return of our people and territories," Zelensky wrote on the Telegram channel on Thursday.

The President recalled that the escalation in Donbas has been observed since the beginning of 2021 - during this period, 20 servicemen were killed and 57 were injured. In addition, he noted that Russia is increasing the presence of troops on the border with Ukraine.

"Muscle flexing in the format of military exercises and possible provocations along the border is a traditional thing for Russia. Thus, it is trying to create an atmosphere of threat and, at the same time, pressure during negotiations on a ceasefire and on peace as our value," the head of state emphasized.

At the same time, Zelensky said, Ukraine is ready for any provocations.

"The sanctions against Viktor Medvedchuk, our strong and firm position on Ukraine's independence and progress towards peace and unconditional support from our Western partners annoy the enemy who invaded Donbas and occupied Crimea. This is understandable. It is also clear that we would like to return to the conditions when the ceasefire regime operated more efficiently - as from July 27, 2020, when during the months we had dozens of times fewer injured and killed people. And we are working on this," the president emphasized.