Monday, June 30, 2014

EU leaders join Ukraine-Russia talks amid new clashes

A pro-Russian fighter outside a Ukrainian military site captured by rebels in the city of Donetsk - 27 June 2014
Some rebel leaders refused to observe the ceasefire and clashes with government troops have continued

EU leaders held talks with the presidents of Ukraine and Russia on Sunday as a truce between government forces and separatists neared its end.
The joint telephone conference, which lasted more than two hours, came after new clashes in the east of the country.
Five Ukrainian soldiers were reported to have been killed.
A cameraman for Russian state TV, Anatoly Klyan, was also shot and killed while reporting near a Ukrainian military base in Donetsk.
Russia's Channel One TV said Klyan, 68, was fatal wounded in the stomach when shots came from the Ukrainian military side. He was reporting on pro-Russian separatists in the area.
Deadline looms
On Sunday protesters angered by the ceasefire gathered outside President Petro Poroshenko's offices in Kiev.
The BBC's David Stern in Kiev says Mr Poroshenko is coming under increased pressure to resume military operations against the rebels.
One demonstrator told Reuters news agency that the temporary truce "didn't bring any results, except deaths of our soldiers".
Protesters gathered in Kiev on Sunday to voice their anger at President Poroshenko's truce with rebels

One man at the demonstrations in the capital carried a sign saying: "We talk - they kill!"

There were renewed clashes in Sloviansk on Sunday with both sides accusing one another of firing shells

The ceasefire was extended on Friday for three days and is due to end on Monday at 22:00 local time (19:00 GMT).
Some rebel leaders refused to observe the truce and low level attacks have continued over the weekend.
Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskiy said five Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and at least 17 wounded in clashes in the east of Ukraine.
He also said pro-Russian rebels had seized an air defence unit in Donetsk and captured six soldiers, although this has not been independently verified.
Elsewhere, there were renewed clashes in the rebel stronghold of Sloviansk with government troops and armed separatists accusing one another firing shells in the city.
Photographs showed a badly damaged apartment block and there were reports of civilian casualties but this has not been confirmed.
EU pressure
President Poroshenko extended the ceasefire in a bid to make some progress on his 15-point peace plan.
The plan involves decentralising power and holding early local and parliamentary elections.
The separatists in eastern Ukraine continue to occupy several government and military buildings

The European Union has threatened to impose more sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin unless he puts pressure on pro-Russia rebels to lay down their arms.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande held their second talks in a week with Mr Poroshenko and the Russian leader on Sunday.
The leaders discussed the importance of the ceasefire and the implementation of the peace plan, a statement (in French) from President Hollande's office said.
According to the AFP news agency, President Putin used the call to urge Mr Poroshenko to extend the ceasefire "for a longer period".
Chancellor Merkel warned Russia on Friday the EU was prepared for "drastic measures" if no progress was made on the peace plan.
Her warning came as Mr Poroshenko signed a landmark EU trade pact - an agreement that triggered the recent crisis.
The refusal of Mr Poroshenko's predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, to sign the EU deal - under pressure from Russia - led to protests in Kiev and his eventual overthrow this year.
Russia then annexed Ukraine's Crimea region, and separatists in the east declared independence from Ukraine.
More than 420 people have been killed in fighting between pro-Russia rebels and government forces in eastern Ukraine since mid-April, the UN estimates.
Map showing eastern Ukraine

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