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Ukraine to declare ceasefire as part of peace plan for Donbas

Ukraine to declare ceasefire as part of peace plan for Donbas

19 June 2014

The Ukrainian government will declare a unilateral ceasefire in the nearest days as part of the peace plan proposed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, acting Defense Minister Mykhaylo Koval announced on June 18. “We are sure that our enemies will have enough courage and common sense and this plan will be implemented,” he said.

 

The unilateral ceasefire will give the opportunity for members of illegal armed formations to disarm and for Russian mercenaries to leave Ukraine, Poroshenko said on June 18. The ceasefire period will be short, during which the illegal formations will disarm under the condition of amnesty and order will be established in the region.

 

In response to the ceasefire plan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov predicted on June 18 that the Ukrainian government will betray its promise of amnesty to arrest and imprison the separatists. He also distorted Poroshenko’s proposal to allow Russian mercenaries to leave Ukraine, instead characterizing it as a form of ethnic cleansing to force all separatists to leave Ukraine, including Ukrainian citizens.

 

Denis Pushilin, among the leaders of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), said he has consulted with representatives of Vladislav Surkov, who is the advisor on Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin, reported slon.ru on June 18. He said he has also consulted with Federations Council Head Valentina Matviyenko and Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of the Liberal-Democratic Party.

 

Currently in Moscow, Pushilin told the Dozhd television network that he rejects the ceasefire plan suggested by Poroshenko. “I consider the proposal to be ridiculous,” he said. “Here’s what will happen: they stop firing, we lay down our arms and they take us unarmed.” The DNR separatists want the Ukrainian occupiers to leave their territory, he said.

 

The Ukrainian government submitted a request to the Russian government on June 18 to find out how the Donbas terrorists obtained Russian portable anti-aircraft rocket systems. The request was made during a meeting of the OSCE defense forum, reported Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry. The anti-aircraft systems were found near a border post, having been used during a June 6 attack. Their transfer not only confirms Russia’s direct interference in Ukraine’s internal affairs and Russian support for terrorism, but also violates Russia’s international commitments to monitor the storage and transfer of anti-aircraft systems, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

 

The Russian government continues to accumulate military equipment near the Ukrainian border and transfer weapons and Chechen mercenaries to Crimea, reported on June 18 Volodymyr Chepoviy, the spokesman for the Information-Analytical Center of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. Four battalions were moved to the Ukrainian border on June 18, he said, and “a significant amount” of military hardware was recently moved to Crimea, including tanks and armored transporters. The pro-Russian separatists have also brought two Russian tanks to the city of Donetsk, Chepoviy reported.

 

Ukrainian prosecutors announced on June 18 they launched a criminal investigation of Armed Forces and Anti-Terrorist Operation commanders for having allowed an attack on a transport plane that resulted in 49 deaths. The suspects ignored available information about the activity of terrorist groups near the Luhansk airport, including the presence of anti-aircraft systems, and didn’t take measures to ensure the plane’s safe landing in the area of the anti-terrorist operation, the Procurator General reported. The suspects face charges of “negligent attitude to military service.”

 

Zenon Zawada: Poroshenko is doing what he needs to do for peace in eastern Ukraine, but the Russian government and its sponsored separatists have indicated with their words and deeds they’re not interested. Peace in Ukraine is not part of Russia’s broader geopolitical goals. Unfortunately, we don’t have much hope for the ceasefire resulting in a permanent end to the violence, though it could produce a short-lived peace. Regardless of the results, Poroshenko will boost his international standing for leading this process. His peace plan has already been endorsed by Western powers.

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