You're reading: European Council president reaffirms Kyiv’s right for military operation in eastern Ukraine

Ukraine has every right to conduct a military operation in the south and east of the country, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy has said.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Van Rompuy said that
Ukraine has shown great restraint since the beginning of the crisis, and
in recent weeks the Ukrainian authorities have been trying to restore
order, which is their constitutional right.

He said this when asked by journalists to comment on Russian Prime
Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s response to the G7 summit statement.

Medvedev earlier dismissed the G7 countries’ statement about the
“measured approach” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the country’s
southeastern regions as “infinitely cynical”.

“The Ukrainian authorities are refusing to see any humanitarian
problems. They are even speaking about the absence of refugees. It is a
lie,” Medvedev said at a Russian government session on Thursday.

“The so-called G7 even dares to talk about the ‘measured approach’ of
the Ukrainian army against its own people. Cynicism knows no limit in
this case,” he said.

The G7 leaders adopted a communique at a summit in Brussels on
Wednesday evening, reaffirming their support for the Ukrainian
government.

“We call upon the illegal armed groups to disarm. We encourage the
Ukrainian authorities to maintain a measured approach in pursuing
operations to restore law and order,” the G7 leaders said in the
communique.

“In the face of unacceptable interference in Ukraine’s sovereign
affairs by the Russian Federation, we stand by the Ukrainian government
and people,” they said.