Politicians and military sources in Russian-backed breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine say they do not see an imminent risk of full-scale war while attempts are still under way to find a diplomatic solution.
A long-simmering conflict between the Russian-backed separatists and the Ukrainian army is part of a deeper crisis between the two countries in which Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine's borders, prompting U.S. warnings of a possible attack within days or weeks.
Andrei Purgin, a local politician and former separatist leader, told Reuters he expected no significant changes for now in low-level hostilities along the line of contact between the two sides, where international monitors keep a tally of explosions and other ceasefire violations that sometimes runs to hundreds of incidents a day.
"This will either be a final peace, or there is a very high probability of very serious escalations," he said. Two separatist sources told Reuters they did not expect a major military escalation until at least spring. "The time for diplomacy has not yet passed," said one of the sources, who is close to the separatist command.
Their comments could represent an attempt at disinformation and do not preclude the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin could order an attack on Ukraine either via the separatist regions or on a completely different front. Moscow has strongly denied it plans to invade Ukraine.