KIEV, October 26 (RIA Novosti) - Conflict in Donbas can be settled by conducting political reforms, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on air of Ukraine's First National TV Channel.
"The war will not be won by military means only, could you imagine fighting in the center of the city of Donetsk or in the center of the city of Luhansk, the whole city will be destroyed, number of civilian casualties will reach hundreds of thousands," Poroshenko said late on Saturday.
Ukrainian President added that the conflict can be solved by introducing political reforms. "We will win the war, but not by the mechanism of using force in cities but by effective reforms and effective changes in the country," Poroshenko said.
In mid-April, Kiev launched a military operation against independence supporters in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Some 3,700 people have been killed and over 9,000 have sustained injuries since the beginning of the armed conflict, according to the latest UN estimates.
There have been regular reports of the shelling of Donetsk ever since the Ukrainian forces and independence supporters of the eastern regions struck a ceasefire deal on September 5 in Minsk.
