Ukraine and pro-Russia rebels sign cease-fire deal
Posted September 5, 2014 6:52 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MINSK, Belarus (NEWS1130) – A European official says Ukraine and the Russian-backed rebels have signed a cease-fire deal that starts at 8 a.m. Pacific.
The announcement comes as representatives of Ukraine, Russia, pro-Russian rebels and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe met in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.
Saying he is “ready to do my best to stop the war,” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko voiced “careful optimism” about today’s meeting.
Since mid-April, Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting government troops in eastern Ukraine in a conflict the UN estimates has killed nearly 2,600 people.
Yesterday, a NATO military officer told The Associated Press that the ranks of Russian soldiers directly involved in the conflict have grown.
Earlier today, AP reporters heard heavy shelling north and east of Mariupol.
The key southeastern port lies on the Sea of Azov, between Russia to the east and the Crimean Peninsula to the west, which Russia annexed in March.
The shelling appeared to indicate that rebels had partially surrounded the area and were probing its defences.
The rebel offensive follows two weeks of gains that have turned the tide of the war against Ukrainian forces, who until recently had appeared close to crushing the five-month rebellion in the east.
