Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has met with UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, the presidential press service has reported.

The president thanked the UN secretary general for supporting peace and de-escalation of the situation in the Donbas. He said that there was no internal conflict in Ukraine, reports GHN based on Ukrinform.

"People in Donetsk and Luhansk want peace. The implementation of the peace plan proposed by us determines our further actions. We realize that this situation cannot be settled by military methods alone," Poroshenko said.

He informed Feltman about the shelling by militants of a column of civilians who tried to leave Luhansk.

The president also spoke about the initiative of the Ukrainian side to send international humanitarian assistance to Luhansk, which, under the control of terrorists, is now on the verge of a humanitarian disaster.

Poroshenko said that Russian servicemen were fighting in the Donbas and Russia continues to send the newest weapons to them, including tanks, artillery, and rocket launchers.

He also urged the international community to help release hostages who are illegally detained in Russia.

Speaking on behalf of the UN secretary general, Feltman, in turn, thanked Poroshenko for his peace initiatives and invited him to attend the next session of the UN General Assembly in New York in September.