You're reading: Kyiv expects complete ceasefire in east Ukraine next week

Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council expects next week to bring a complete ceasefire in the east of the country with the release of all war prisoners, the withdrawal of heavy weapons from their current positions and the establishment of control over the Ukrainian-Russian border, the council spokesman said on Saturday.

‘We do expect that next week will be the decisive point in the process of implementation of the ceasefire regime,’ Andriy Lysenko told at a briefing in Kyiv.

He said shelling had already become less intensive.

‘We hope that next week the parliament will pass the draft laws introduced by the president, and there will be understanding on the part of the international community about, among other things, enlarging the mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which would make it possible to control the situation in the conflict zone on a larger scale,’ Lysenko said.

He claimed that the government and militia leadership had reached a point in their talks where they are discussing practical matters.