Fighting erupts as pro-Russian rebels reject Ukrainian president's cease-fire
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Fresh fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists erupted in eastern Ukraine Thursday, underscoring the challenges President Petro Poroshenko faces as he pushes a new peace plan.
Up to 4,000 separatist fighters are , a town near Slovyansk, an unnamed Ukrainian military official told Reuters. The fighting broke out around 4 a.m. local time.
鈥淲e issued an ultimatum to the terrorists overnight to surrender their weapons. We guarantee their safety and investigation in line with Ukrainian law ... They refused,鈥� government forces spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov told Reuters.
"Now we are trying to narrow the encirclement. They are trying to break out," Seleznyov said.
The fighting in Kasny Liman, a town that government forces , comes a day after Mr. Poroshenko announced plans for a unilateral cease-fire. A cessation of hostilities is the first step in his new 14-point peace plan.
Poroshenko is due to travel to eastern Ukraine today to discuss his plan with officials from Donetsk and Luhansk, separatist strongholds that have seen fierce fighting, according to Reuters. He will not be meeting with separatists, who have declared independence from Kiev and attempted to create their own administration.聽
Other planks in the peace plan include sealing the 1,200-mile border with Russia; disarming insurgents; offering amnesties to those who did not commit serious crime; giving safe passage to rebels to leave the country; and eventually passing constitutional amendments to decentralize power. Poroshenko told reporters that the time frame for the cease-fire "聽and that disarmament would quickly follow, the Post reports.聽
But separatists, who have been battling government forces for almost three months, promptly rejected the offer from Poroshenko, whom they said they do not trust.
鈥淭his proposal by Poroshenko to lay down our arms is simply a tactical ploy,鈥� said Myroslav Rudenko, a spokesman for the separatists鈥� self-proclaimed Donetsk People鈥檚 Republic, according to the Russian Interfax news agency. 鈥淚f people fall for it, there will be a new mopping-up operation. We will not put our weapons away.鈥�
As 海角大神 noted yesterday, 鈥渢he major question lurking behind Moscow-Kiev relations is just how much control Russia experts over the separatists in eastern Ukraine 鈥� and if it will be able to rein them in and allow a cease-fire to take place.鈥�
While Russia claims it does not control or speak for the separatists, many in Ukraine and the West believe otherwise.
Poroshenko alluded to Russia's influence among the separatists in a speech [Wednesday] to graduates of the National University of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. The Kyiv Post reported that Poroshenko said Ukraine is dealing with 鈥� 鈥� with the use of professional subversive groups, mercenaries, volunteers, and the local population. And these volunteers and the local population have 鈥榳ashed鈥� brains in a huge part due to the information war.鈥�
In the Russian media, attention is focused on what is being called a , blamed on the Ukrainian Army. Russia's state-owned broadcaster RT reported today that Ukrainian Army shelling in Slovyansk has 鈥渓eft the city paralyzed,鈥� knocking out water and electricity supplies.聽
鈥淭hey've bombed everything,鈥� a local woman told RT. 鈥�There's no electricity, no water, no money, no work, nothing. We don't know what to do. We're not leaving, we want to live on this land.鈥�
鈥淧lease help us,鈥� said another woman. 鈥淪omething must be done, we're being killed in Slavyansk.鈥�
Michael Weiss, the head of The Interpreter, a聽Russian news and analysis site, that Russia isn't pulling back. 鈥淐ontrary to press claims that Putin has wound down his direct and indirect interference in east Ukraine 鈥� claims which were mostly based on his seeming acceptance of Petro Poroshenko鈥檚 election as Ukraine鈥檚 president, and his brief one-on-one conversations with Poroshenko and President Obama during the D-Day anniversary in France last week聽鈥攖he opposite is the case.鈥澛�
For the last several weeks, my team at , a Russian news and analysis website, have been documenting mounting evidence of what we鈥檝e termed Russia鈥檚 鈥溾�� in east Ukraine.
According to Mr. Weiss, Russia has 鈥渃overed its tracks鈥� in recently providing three Russian T-64 battle tanks and several armored vehicles.
