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ceasefire deal
BY ANDREI MAKHOVSKY
MINSK Fri Sep 5, 2014 6:40pm EDT
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1 OF 12. Soldiers of Ukrainian self-defence battalion 'Azov' walk near a checkpoint in the southern coastal town of
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A senior rebel leader said separatists still want a formal split for their mainly
Russian-speaking regions. "The ceasefire does not mean the end of (our) policy to
split (from Ukraine)," Igor Plotnitsky, a leader of the Luhansk region, told reporters.
NATO also sent a firm message to Russia by approving wide-ranging plans to boost
its defenses in eastern Europe, aiming to reassure allies nervous about Russia's
intervention in Ukraine that the U.S.-led alliance will shield them from any attack.
The plan includes creating a "spearhead" rapid reaction force and pre-positioning
supplies and equipment in eastern European countries so they can be reinforced
within days in a crisis.
Minutes after the ceasefire began, three blasts were heard north of Donetsk, followed
by scattered mortar and artillery fire, but this later fell quiet. The ceasefire allowed
people to emerge from cellars where they have been taking shelter.
"We went out for a walk after three days of hiding, and this is a huge relief," said
Lesya, 30, carrying her newborn boy in Mariupol. "But I am not optimistic. We have
already seen so many broken ceasefires."
Hopes the ceasefire will hold are also clouded by Western suspicions that Putin
unveiled a seven-point peace plan this week merely to dupe NATO's leaders and
avert new sanctions being considered by the European Union over the crisis.
Fighting began in east Ukraine in mid-April, after Russia annexed Crimea following
the removal of a Ukrainian president sympathetic to Moscow and Kiev shifted policy
toward the EU.
By pushing for a ceasefire this week, Poroshenko changed his position after the tide
turned in the conflict and Ukrainian troops were beaten back by a resurgent rebel
force which the West says has received military support from Russia.
'ALL FOR NOTHING'
Moscow denies arming the rebels or sending in Russian troops, but Poroshenko
appears worried he cannot now defeat the rebels and needs time to tackle a growing
economic crisis and prepare for a parliamentary election. It is a risky move.
"If he goes for a peace plan, then all these dead and wounded and exiled and all the
homes burned and jobs lost and money lost, it was all for nothing," said a Ukrainian
soldier, who gave his name only as Mykola.
Putin for the first time this week put his name to a concrete peace plan, proposing
seven steps which would leave rebels in control of territory that is home to about
one-tenth of Ukraine's population and an even larger share of its industry. It would
also require Ukraine to remain unaligned.
Although the Kremlin leader may not have secured all his goals, he had reason to
secure a settlement because of the growing impact of sanctions on Russia's stuttering
economy.
Public support for Putin is high because of the seizure of Crimea, a Russian territory
until Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev gave it to Ukraine 70 years ago. But this could
change if the conflict drags on and many Russians are killed.
Putin's key goals appear now to be to ensure that Ukraine, a country of more than 40
million where Moscow has long had major influence, does not join NATO and that
the eastern regions of Ukraine win much more autonomy.
Although Poroshenko still calls for Crimea to be part of Ukraine, there is little chance
of Russia giving it up. Moscow can also hope to maintain influence in eastern
Ukraine if a peace deal seals the rebels' territorial gains, creating a "frozen conflict"
that ensures Ukraine is hard to govern.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the ceasefire but said "credible and
comprehensive monitoring and verification are essential elements for successful
implementation."
(Additional reporting by Gareth Jones and Pavel Polityuk in Kiev, Aleksandar
Vasovic in Mariupol, Elizabeth Piper, Alexei Anishchuk, Lidia Kelly, Jazson Bush and
Alissa de Carbonnel in Moscow, Steve Holland, Phil Stewart, Adrian Croft, Michael
Holden, Guy Faulconbridge and Paul Taylor in Wales, Aleksandar Vasovic and
Gabriela Baczynska in Donetsk, Jan Strupczewski in Brussels; Writing by Will
Dunham and Timothy Heritage; Editing by Giles Elgood and Jonathan Oatis)