Ukraine's top security official Oleksiy Danilov on Friday accused Russia of staging provocations in eastern Ukraine to try to provoke Ukraine's military to respond but added that Ukraine would stick to peaceful ways to defuse the crisis.
In a joint briefing, Minister for Integration of the Temporary Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk said Russia was trying to force Ukraine into making concessions.
Danilov said Ukraine had no plans to liberate separatist-held territories by force, adding that a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine was unlikely.