Poroshenko pledges anti-terrorist operation in Ukraine's east to end in May

The anti-terrorist operation (ATO) in the Donbas will gain a military format under the leadership of General Serhii Naiev.

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko told a press conference in Vinnytsia, Censor.NET reports citing UNIAN.

"The end date of the ATO will be in May, and we will move on to another format of the country's defense in accordance with the law [on Donbas reintegration] adopted. We are introducing new, more effective measures with the use of the armed forces," he said.

 "We are doing this because we see a sharp increase in the level of threat in the east of our state... The regime of the ATO, where everything was coordinated through the SBU, will now be transferred to the Armed Forces," Poroshenko added.

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On Feb. 20, Poroshenko signed the law on the peculiarities of state policy on ensuring Ukraine's state sovereignty over temporarily occupied territories in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which reformats the ATO and defines Russia as an aggressor.

On March 16, the president announced the end of the ATO and further transition to the Operation of Joint Forces. According to him, representatives of other military formations and law enforcement agencies involved in accomplishing tasks in Donbass will be transferred under the leadership of the Joint Forces, the Commander of the Joint Forces to be in charge of them.