Poroshenko's 'arms surrender' offer a trick - Donetsk People's Republic
18 June 2014, 18:22 -- A spokesman for the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Miroslav Rudenko, has rejected a proposal by Ukrainian President Petr Poroshenko for self-defense fighters in the east of the country to surrender their arms. 'Poroshenko's proposal to surrender arms is simply a tactical trick,' he said. 'If people give in to it, a new purge will begin. We shall not surrender our arms,' Rudenko said.
'Why should we surrender arms? We no longer believe Poroshenko, because his announcement of a peaceful resolution to the conflict was followed by fierce shelling of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, and subsequently of Amvrosiyevka, where there were no militiamen,' Rudenko told Interfax on Wednesday.
He added that the last 24 hours saw fierce fighting in Kramatorsk.
'About a dozen civilians have been injured, a whole street destroyed, and a five-storey building has partially collapsed,' the DPR spokesperson said.
Slavyansk to be encircled, armed opposition to be liquidated - Ukraine's Poroshenko
Ukrainian law enforcement units will encircle Slavyansk to liquidate the armed opposition and regain full control over the state border in eastern regions, Ukrainian President Petr Poroshenko said. 'We are taking resolute steps and conducting successful operations towards the restoration [of control] over the state border,' the president told reporters in Kiev on Wednesday.
'We will do our best today to encircle Slavyansk; we are moving on and the circle is tightening in order to liquidate the militants led by the so-called Shooter [defense minister of the Donetsk People's Republic Igor Strelkov] who are resisting Ukrainian servicemen with arms,' Poroshenko said.
The Ukrainian president said he was maintaining permanent contact with senior officials of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and the army operation command.
It is important to assign trained, well equipped and well-armed fighters on combat missions, he said. 'Now we need not just heroism [although we need it very much], not only patriotism but also strict military discipline and cohesion with other units of the Armed Forces, reconnaissance, interaction and clearly defined tasks,' Poroshenko said
Poroshenko announces plan for temporary eastern Ukraine cease-fire
Ukrainian law enforcers will unilaterally cease fire in eastern regions in order to give members of illegal armed units a chance to disarm themselves and everyone wishing to leave the country to do so, Ukrainian President Petr Poroshenko said.
'The [president's peace] plan starts with my order of unilateral ceasefire. We should gain support to the president's peace plan by all the participants in the Donbas events immediately after that. Very quickly,' Poroshenko told reporters in Kiev on Wednesday.
The ceasefire will be very brief and during this period the militia must be disarmed and order must be restored in the region, he said.
'We will offer an amnesty to those who lay down arms and who have not committed grave crimes. I will offer a corridor for unarmed mercenaries to leave the territory of our country,' Poroshenko said.
A key element of the peace plan is the draft constitutional amendments concerning profound power decentralization, the president continued.
'We expect many parties to this situation to demonstrate their support to this peace plan shortly. We expect the release of hostages, the immediate liberation of every occupied building and the choice of many people in the Donbas region to use the security guarantees,' Poroshenko said.
The implementation of the peace plan is being thoroughly prepared, the president said.
'A major element of this plan is the closure of the state border. There is a huge risk that criminals may try to take advantage of the ceasefire,' the Ukrainian president stated.
The peace plan stipulates 14 political steps, which will be announced within days, he said.
Ukraine's President asks Merkel for help in bolstering border control
Ukrainian President Petr Poroshenko has asked the European Union and the United States to assist in bolstering control over the Ukrainian state border. Poroshenko made the request in a telephone conversation with German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Ukrainian presidential press service reported on Tuesday night.
Speaking of the peace plan principles, Poroshenko mentioned 'the creation of a ten-kilometer buffer zone along the border, the pullout of illegal armed units, the liberation of all the illegally occupied administrative buildings and the resumption of activities of local power bodies and central television and radio stations.'
It is also necessary to decentralize the authorities and to hold early local and parliament elections, the president stressed.
'This framework will shape up the logic of our further steps targeting the peace plan implementation. The tripartite contact group will draw up its phases and schedule,' the president emphasized.
German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel supported the steps towards the implementation of the Poroshenko peace plan, the press service noted.
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