Kyiv soldiers call for lifting of ceasefire
People gather for a rally at Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine
Several hundred Ukrainian soldiers and activists gathered outside the presidential administration in Kyiv to call for an end to the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine.After the week-long ceasefire expired on Friday, President Petro Poroshenko agreed to extend it through Monday in an effort to stop the fighting between government troops and Moscow-backed separatists that has left hundreds dead.
The European Union also set for Monday as deadline for Russia and the separatists to take a series of steps to ease the violence. If this is not done, the EU warned that it is ready to impose new sanctions on Russia.
Soldiers from the Donbass battalion on Sunday appealed to Mr Poroshenko to allow them to resume fighting once the ceasefire expires.
Both sides have been accused of violating the ceasefire.Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday joined the leaders of Germany and France in calling on Ukraine to extend its temporary ceasefire with pro-Kremlin militias beyond Monday, the Kremlin said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande joined Mr Putin in asking Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko to extend the truce “for a longer period,” the Kremlin said in a statement issued after a four-way teleconference lasting more than two hours.