Ukraine won't respond to provocations, Zelenskiy says

[February 19, 2022]    KYIV (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday said Ukraine would not respond to provocations in the eastern Donbass region and would strive to establish peace through diplomacy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks on the phone with European Council President Charles Michel in the Donetsk region, Ukraine February 17, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

Zelenskiy flew to Germany to attend a security conference as his country is bracing for a possible military attack from Russia, which has massed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine's borders. Russia denies plans to attack.

"We do not respond to provocations and strive to establish peace exclusively through diplomacy," Zelenskiy wrote on his Instagram.

(Reporting by Natalia Zinets; writing by Matthias Williams. Editing by Jane Merriman)

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