Ukrainian Forces State They Are Carrying Out Defensive Operation Tasks 'in Full' and Outline Conditions for a Possible Ceasefire

The Main Directorate of Communications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has issued a clarification regarding the course of hostilities and the prospects for a ceasefire regime on the front. The agency emphasized that Ukrainian servicemen continue to carry out the assigned tasks of the defensive operation 'in full' and in accordance with the approved plan. As reported by RBC-Ukraine, the statement was made against the backdrop of ongoing discussions about a possible truce and underscores that Kyiv does not consider a unilateral cessation of fire an acceptable scenario.

Kyiv's Official Position

According to a representative of the Main Directorate of Communications of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of Ukraine 'continue to carry out the defined tasks for the defense of Ukraine as planned.' The wording indicates that, in Kyiv's assessment, hostilities are not being suspended or scaled back, but are being conducted within the framework of a pre-established defensive plan. Thus, the official position amounts to the fact that the question of a ceasefire is not raised unilaterally and is not a priority for the Ukrainian side under current conditions.

The Condition of Reciprocity and Symmetry

A key element of the statement was the caveat that a ceasefire regime 'cannot be unilateral or asymmetric.' The agency directly linked an asymmetric format to a risk to the lives and health of servicemen: by their logic, if one side stops firing while the other continues active operations, this creates a direct threat to the personnel. From this, as stated by the communications directorate, it follows that the tasks of the defensive operation are being carried out in full until a mutual and equal regime of silence is ensured for all parties to the conflict.

Visual Context: Combat Work Continues

The footage accompanying the statement captures the day-to-day combat work of Ukrainian military personnel in field conditions: servicemen in camouflage uniforms and protective gear are handling 122 mm caliber rocket munitions for multiple launch rocket systems in a wooded area, with transport and transport-combat containers placed nearby. Such scenes vividly illustrate Kyiv's claim that defensive tasks are being carried out 'in full' and that a high level of combat readiness is maintained on the ground, rather than a regime of silence.

What This Means for the Negotiation Track

Taken as a whole, the statement sets a negotiating framework: Kyiv effectively makes the bilateral and symmetric nature of any ceasefire regime a condition, ruling out a scenario in which one side unilaterally stops firing. For the parties discussing the parameters of a truce, this means that the Ukrainian side insists on guarantees of reciprocity as a basic requirement for the safety of its personnel. Until such guarantees are secured, according to Kyiv's position, the defensive operation continues at the same scale.