Ukrainian border guards hurt in separatist attack on 1st day of cease-fire
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Debris lies scattered at an airport in Luhansk, Ukraine, on Saturday, June 14, after the crash of a Ukrainian Ilyushin-76 military transport plane. A military spokesman said the aircraft was shot down by pro-Russian separatists, killing all 49 aboard. Here’s a look at images from the upheaval that has persisted in eastern Ukraine after the election of President Petro Poroshenko.
A pro-Russian fighter collects ammunition from the debris of a downed Ukrainian military aircraft on June 14. Pro-Russian separatists armed with antiaircraft machine guns shot down the military transport plane, killing all 49 on board, Ukrainian officials said.
Pro-Russian fighters walk past the wreckage of the downed Ukrainian military aircraft.
A military vehicle was destroyed during a clash between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists Friday, June 13, in Mariupol, Ukraine.
Locals in Mariupol gather around a burning military vehicle at the site of a battle between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian fighters on June 13.
A pro-Russian fighter in Slovyansk, Ukraine, checks a woman’s documents as she leaves the city on Thursday, June 12.
A pro-Russian fighter stands guard at a checkpoint in Slovyansk on June 12.
A girl looks out of a bus window as she leaves Slovyansk on Monday, June 9.
Poroshenko holds the ceremonial mace during his inauguration ceremony Saturday, June 7, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Poroshenko was elected three months after the ouster of former President Viktor Yanukovych.
A Ukrainian tank opens fire during a battle with pro-Russian separatist fighters in Slovyansk on Friday, June 6.
A Ukrainian soldier prepares explosives during a battle with pro-Russian separatists in Slovyansk on June 6.
A Ukrainian soldier observes the road at a checkpoint outside of Amvrosiivka, Ukraine, on Thursday, June 5.
Ukrainian soldiers take position during a battle with pro-Russian separatists outside Slovyansk on June 5.
Pro-Russian militants stand guard at a barricade and checkpoint in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Sunday, June 1.
A Ukrainian soldier shoots a grenade launcher during a battle with pro-Russian separatists in Slovyansk on Saturday, May 31.
A protester from Kyiv’s Independence Square gestures May 31 as fellow protesters burn tires to protect their barricades from being dismantled by communal services.
A Ukrainian armored personnel carrier takes position during a battle with pro-Russian separatist fighters May 31 in Slovyansk.
Ukrainian soldiers rest at a checkpoint outside Slovyansk on Thursday, May 29.
Smoke rises from a shot-down Ukrainian Army helicopter outside Slovyansk on May 29.
A man stands in front of a truck that was bombed by Ukrainian soldiers during clashes with armed rebels Tuesday, May 27, in Donetsk.
Medical staff prepare to clean the body of a pro-Russian militant at the Kalinina morgue in Donetsk on May 27.
The body of a pro-Russian militant lies on a stretcher at a morgue in Donetsk on May 27. He was killed in clashes around Donetsk’s airport, which was seized by pro-Russian separatists a day earlier. Ukrainian forces moved in and reclaimed the facility.
Firefighters work on extinguishing a fire at a local sports hall in Donetsk on May 27.
People pile up sandbags to set up a shooting position on the road leading from the Donetsk airport on May 27.
A man dressed in a prisoner costume takes part in a protest against government corruption May 27 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Pro-Russian militants take position on the roof of Donetsk International Airport on Monday, May 26.
A pro-Russian militant takes position on the roof of the Donetsk airport on May 26.
A man runs for cover during fighting around the airport on May 26.
Smoke rises from the airport on May 26 after an airstrike by the Ukrainian military.
Pro-Russian gunmen take positions near the airport on May 26.
Men stand next to pro-Russian militants as a woman runs away during clashes near the airport on May 26.
A pro-Russian militant guards a checkpoint on May 26, blocking a highway that links the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv with Rostov-on-Don, Russia.
A pro-Russian militant teaches recruits how to use a machine gun in Senyonovka, Ukraine, on May 26.
A woman walks May 26 near barricades built by protesters in Kyiv’s Independence Square. Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv’s future mayor and a former boxing champion, promised to dismantle the iconic protest encampment that helped oust Yanukovych but now clogs traffic and draws public complaints.
Ukraine’s newly elected president, Petro Poroshenko, talks alongside Klitschko, right, during a news conference in Kyiv on May 26. Poroshenko, a billionaire candy tycoon known as the “Chocolate King,” is a seasoned politician known for his pro-European Union views.
Election commission officials count ballots at a polling station in Kyiv on Sunday, May 25.
Artist Ivan Voronov, 91, and his wife, Svetlana Samoilechenko, 86, cast votes from their Kyiv home on May 25.
An elderly woman casts her vote May 25 as a mobile Ukrainian election committee visited Orane, a village north of Kyiv.
A woman holds the hand of a pro-Russian gunman in Donetsk’s Lenin Square on May 25. A large separatist rally was held in Donetsk around lunchtime. The protesters chanted pro-Russian slogans as they were addressed by separatist leaders.
A man prepares a ballot at a polling station in the eastern Ukrainian town of Dobropillya on May 25. See the crisis in Ukraine before the election
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(CNN) — The new cease-fire implemented in embattled eastern Ukraine by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Friday was clearly under threat by Saturday, if not sooner.
Three Ukrainian border guards were wounded when pro-Russian separatists launched a mortar attack and opened fire with automatic weapons near the town of Vyselky, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine’s State Border Service said in a statement Saturday.
The wounded guards were evacuated as security forces were notified, according to the Border Service. The separatists also targeted a nearby checkpoint in Uspenka, using small arms, but the attack was repelled by guards, the Border Service said.
Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a tense standoff since March, when Russia annexed Crimea and massed troops along its border with Ukraine.
Ukraine’s government in Kyiv has accused Russia of allowing weapons and military equipment to cross the border illegally into the hands of pro-Russia separatists, who have led uprisings in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Meanwhile, three military tanks and 10 armored personnel carriers of unknown origin were seen in Luhansk, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which operates a special monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine, said Saturday.
The military convoy drove through the city early Friday morning, according to local witnesses and traffic surveillance camera footage seen by the mission.
The convoy came from the direction of the Russian border, going east and was observed in Alchevsk, 27 miles southwest of Luhansk, heading toward Donetsk, OSCE said.
Meanwhile, four OSCE monitors from the Donetsk team have been missing for 26 days and four other monitors from the Luhansk team for 23 days, the group said.
Kremlin responds to cease-fire plan
Also Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed support for Poroshenko’s cease-fire plan, the Kremlin said in a statement.
Putin emphasized that the plan “should not take the character of an ultimatum to militants” and that the cease-fire “should be used to begin constructive negotiations and political compromises between the opponent parties in eastern Ukraine,” according to the Kremlin.
But the statement also mentioned an incident Friday on the Ukrainian-Russian border after the cease-fire was first declared.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said one of its units in Novoshakhtinsk, near the border with Ukraine, was shelled, injuring one customs officer.
Ukraine denied that it fired artillery or mortar at the Russian unit.
Putin said in the statement released Saturday that he considers the incident “unacceptable,” especially because it happened after Poroshenko declared a cease-fire.
Poroshenko declares cease–fire
Poroshenko declared a cease-fire Friday in Kyiv’s fight against separatists in the country’s pro-Russian east.
He said military units would respond only if they’re attacked and he warned militant fighters to abandon their weapons before the cease-fire expires on June 27.
“Those who will not lay down their weapons will be destroyed,” Poroshenko said, according to a statement issued by the Interior Ministry.
Poroshenko announced plans for the cease-fire on Wednesday.
He spoke with Putin by phone on Thursday, according to Poroshenko’s office.
Putin has said he backs an effort to de-escalate tensions in eastern regions and supports a process to forge a cease-fire and a peace plan.
President: Free hostages
Poroshenko’s cease-fire includes the closure of the Ukraine-Russia border and changes to the constitution to decentralize power.
It also offers amnesty to those who didn’t commit serious crimes, the President said. An escape corridor will be offered for those who disarm to leave Ukraine.
“We expect that hostages and seized premises will be liberated. We expect that a large number of civilians will use the security guarantees for the citizens of Donbas,” Poroshenko said, referring to Ukraine’s eastern region.
In his conversation with Putin, Poroshenko stressed the need for the release of Ukrainian hostages and to establish effective security controls on the border with Russia.
Ukraine implements cease-fire in restive east
Putin, Ukraine leader talk peace in phone call
Ukrainian military plane shot down; all 49 aboard dead
CNN’s Laura Smith-Spark and Victoria Butenko contributed to this report
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