Ukraine urges ‘pullout of Russia troops’

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has appealed to Russia to “pull its troops out” of Ukraine’s restive east, saying Moscow made a “historic mistake” by what he called the invasion of his country.

“Please stop the fire. Please release the hostages. Please withdraw your troops from my territory. Please close the border,” Poroshenko said during a press conference in Melbourne on Thursday.

“And I promise if you close the border, within one, two, three weeks, we have peace and stability in Ukraine. Very simple,” he said.

Russia denies that it has sent troops or weapons into the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Addressing the press at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney on Friday, Poroshenko also said there is a “real ceasefire” in the conflict area.

“I have positive news. Today is the first 24 hours for seven months… when we have a real ceasefire in Ukraine,” he said.

Kiev and pro-Russians had previously reached a truce on September 5 following talks in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. However, both sides have accused each other of violating the ceasefire, which included creating a 30-kilometer buffer zone and a ban on Ukrainian fighter jets flying over the conflict zone.

Kiev and pro-Russia forces in the east reinforced the ceasefire again on December 9.

The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since Kiev’s military operation started in mid-April in a bid to crush the protests.

Violence intensified in May after the two flashpoint regions held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation.

According to reports, around 4,300 people have lost their lives in eight months of deadly conflict in east Ukraine.