He said, however, that “the Ukrainian side refused to negotiate,” so the movement of these units continued according to the plan of operation.

The head of the Kremlin press office told reporters that despite the temporary suspension of the advance of the main troops, hostilities continued in several places.

He pointed out that there were clashes with groups of nationalists, who used light cars and trucks with attack weapons such as those used by extremists from violent Islamic organizations.

In response to a question from TASS news agency, Peskov stressed that Moscow seriously is prepared in advance for Western sanctions, because they were “basically predictable”.

He pointed out that the country is taking immediate measures to minimize the damage of the new measures, “for the proper functioning of all sectors and systems of our economy.”

The Russian presidential spokesman stressed that more analysis will be required to develop response measures that best suit the country’s interests.

Russia launched a military operation in the Ukrainian autonomous region of Donbass on Thursday morning, after authorities from the Donetsk People’s Republics (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republics (PRL) requested help to repel Ukraine’s aggression.

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