The Ukrainian security forces have formed a striking force of over 12,000 people in order to launch an offensive against the forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in the direction of the city of Mariupol, in the south of the region, deputy commander of the DPR Operational Command Eduard Basurin said on Tuesday.
DONETSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th September, 2018) The Ukrainian security forces have formed a striking force of over 12,000 people in order to launch an offensive against the forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in the direction of the city of Mariupol, in the south of the region, deputy commander of the DPR Operational Command Eduard Basurin said on Tuesday.
On Saturday, following the assassination of the republic's leader, Alexander Zakharchenko, Basurin said that Kiev might launch the offensive on September 14.
"According to the intelligence ... from the conflict zone, it is clear that the enemy's offensive striking force has been formed in the direction of the city of Mariupol ... The total strength of the formations and military units exceeds 12,000 people," Basurin said.
He added that the striking force was preparing to attack several settlements in the south of the republic and that the ultimate goal of the offensive was to reach the Russian border.
The armed conflict in the east of Ukraine was triggered in 2014, after the DPR and another self-proclaimed republic, the Luhansk People's Republic, announced their independence from Ukraine, refusing to recognize the new government, which seized power after the overthrow of then-President Viktor Yanukovych.
Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany have been seeking to settle the conflict via their multilateral talks. In 2015, the group signed the Minsk ceasefire agreements, however, both Kiev and Donbas continue mutual accusations of truce breaches.
