Russian news agencies say Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has proposed a unilateral ceasefire by his troops to allow pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country a chance to lay down weapons or leave the country.
The agencies quoted Poroshenko as saying yesterday that this would be the first step in the peace plan he has proposed to de-escalate the conflict.
“The plan will begin with my order for a unilateral ceasefire,” Poroshenko was quoted as saying, adding that: “Shortly afterward the plan will receive support from the other participants.”
The proposal, reportedly disclosed during a visit to an army academy in Kiev, comes after a telephone call between Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin in which a ceasefire was discussed. Poroshenko’s spokesman was not immediately available to confirm the offer.
Poroshenko also assured Putin that an investigation would be launched into the deaths of two members of a Russian television crew in east Ukraine, and vowed to take necessary measures to protect reporters covering the conflict, the Kremlin said in a statement following the talks.
Moscow had earlier responded furiously to the death of the TV crew members, accusing Kiev of a campaign of “terror” and demanding an investigation.
Igor Kornelyuk, a reporter with Russia’s VGTRK media group, sustained severe stomach wounds when he was hit by shrapnel after being caught in an attack by Ukrainian forces in the Russian border region.
“He was unconscious when he arrived and died on his way to the operating room,” Fedir Solyanyk, head doctor at the main hospital in the rebel-held city of Lugansk, told reporters by telephone.
Sound technician Anton Voloshin also died in the attack.
Kiev in turn blamed the explosion of a vital pipeline used to transport Siberian gas to Europe — which erupted in a spectacular fireball on Tuesday — on Russian “sabotage.”
However, Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine were stable yesterday, Gazprom board member Vitaly Markelov told a news conference.
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