Ukraine: Ukraine rebel leader announces unilateral truce
The separatist leader in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region has announced a unilateral cease-fire starting at midnight on Wednesday.
In a recorded statement aired on Russian television Tuesday, Alexander Zakharchenko said he had ordered rebel troops to cease fire and urged Ukraine to do the same. He accused Kyiv of a “lack of willingness to solve the problem in a peaceful manner.”
The rebel leader’s statement came as a cease-fire that went into effect on September 1 appeared to unravel. The Ukrainian military said Tuesday that three of its servicemen were killed and 15 wounded in the past 24 hours in fighting with the Russia-backed separatists, the first major casualties since the September 1 cease-fire came into force.