Russia Fears Resumption of Large-Scale Fighting In Donbas

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday said the situation in eastern Ukraine is extremely unstable and could lead to the resumption of large-scale fighting.

RELATED:

Russia To Protect Donbas Residents if Needed: Kremlin Warns

"The dynamics of the development of the situation and the actions of the Ukrainian side raise fears of a resumption of large-scale fighting," he said and reaffirmed that his country will take measures to prevent a repetition of a tragedy like the one that occurred in Srebenica, the town where some 8,000 Muslims were massacred by Serbs during the Bosnian war in July 1995. 

"Any country that has an unstable, dangerous, and explosive region on its borders takes all measures to ensure its security," Peskov said, referring to the mobilization of Russian troops to the Ukrainian border. 

He accused Kiev of carrying out "provocations" in the Donbas region and assured that such behavior creates a threat of "civil war" in Ukraine. 

In a similar vein, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed that the Ukrainian government continues to have "illusions" about the possibility of resolving by force the conflict with the separatist population that established the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR).

On Thursday, the DPR head Denis Pushilin said his people are considering the possible scenarios that could arise if Ukraine undertakes a military offensive. He also emphasized that the DPR is not seeking to unleash a major conflict.

“War is terrible in all its manifestations. We know this better than anyone else… We have seen destroyed buildings, facilities, houses,” Pushilin said, stressing that “we will do our best to prevent the big war, but no one can say now where we will stop, should Ukraine take this step.”