Putin: Ukraine Needs to Pull Forces Back to Exclude Firing Artillery From Populated Areas
16:43 03/09/2014
ULAN BATOR (Mongolia), September 3 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said that in order to stop the bloodshed in eastern Ukraine, the military needs to be pulled back from populated areas and cities to a point that would exclude them being fired upon.
"In order to stop the bloodshed and stabilize the situation in eastern Ukraine…armed units of Ukraine's military structures need to be pulled back to a distance that would exclude the possibility of firing artillery and all other heavy weapons systems at populated areas," Putin said.
On Wednesday, a representative from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said there are doubts that Ukrainian military units in the country's east will abide by President Petro Poroshenko's call for an "immediate ceasefire" in the region.
"Poroshenko doesn't have control over the punitive battalions and there is no fact that they will subordinate to his decision," the head of the DPR Defense Ministry's press service, Vladislav Brig, told RIA Novosti.
Ukraine's southeastern regions never recognized the legitimacy of the new Kiev authorities that took over the country after the February 22 coup. They protested against the new government and held referendums on self-determination, voting to separate from Ukraine.
In mid-April, Kiev launched a military operation to crack down on independence supporters.
Moscow continues to insist on an immediate end to Kiev's "punitive operation" in eastern Ukraine, which has claimed the lives of more than 2,500 civilians and resulted in 6,000 injured, according to the latest figures from the United Nations.
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