News & Updates

The Ukrainian government and pro-Russia rebels meeting in Minsk have signed a preliminary protocol to start a ceasefire, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says. He said that the truce would start at 15:00 GMT. The announcement came after reports of further clashes in the east. Western countries are meanwhile working on further sanctions against Russia. The West accuses Russia of sending arms and troops to back the rebels in eastern Ukraine. Moscow denies this. The talks in Minsk, capital of Belarus, involve former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, Russian ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov and leaders of the self-proclaimed “people’s republics” in Donetsk and Luhansk. They come after Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward a seven-point peace plan. The plan includes a halt to “active offensive operations” by the Ukrainian military and pro-Russia rebels, international ceasefire monitoring, unconditional prisoner exchanges and humanitarian aid corridors. She