Ukraine’s Poroshenko to propose ceasefire with pro-Russians

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has announced his plans to offer a ceasefire with pro-Russia protesters in the eastern part of the country.

In an address to security chiefs on Monday, Poroshenko said a temporary truce will be observed as part of a peace plan with the pro-Russians later this week once the Ukrainian forces regain control of regions close to Ukraine’s border with Russia.

“A cease-fire will be proposed as the beginning of implementation of … [a] peace plan,” he said.

The remarks came less than a week after the Ukrainian president raised the possibility of holding “roundtable” negotiations with “different parties” if pro-Moscow activists agree to “lay down their weapons.”

Poroshenko outlined a peace proposal on June 7 during his inaugural address. He had previously ruled out negotiations with the pro-Russians, vowing to continue the military operations in the country’s southeast.

Ukrainian troops have been carrying out military operations since mid-April to crush pro-Russia protesters in the east of the country. The Ukrainian army’s military actions were intensified after the Donetsk region together with Lugansk declared independence on May 12 following local referendums, in which the two provinces’ residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine.

The government in Kiev says it is targeting armed protesters, but reports say that many civilians have been caught in the shelling that has been going on for days.