Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has ordered leaders of the armed forces to open fire in response to attacks on Ukrainian troops by members of illegal armed groups, and has said he doesn't rule out the early termination of the truce.
Poroshenko announced this at a meeting with army and law-enforcement officials on Tuesday evening, the president’s press service reported.
“On June 24 militants, despite their own promises to respect the ceasefire given at a meeting with the tripartite contact group in Donetsk, shot down a helicopter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as the result of which nine people died. Since the announcement of the president’s peace plan, the terrorists opened fire on Ukrainian military 35 times,” the statement reads.
The head of state ordered “to open fire in response without hesitation.”
“The president does not rule out that the ceasefire can be canceled prematurely, taking into account its constant violation by militants, who are controlled from the outside,” the press service said.
Furthermore, Poroshenko hopes for holding a four-way telephone conference on June 25 with the participation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Petro Poroshenko expects that this conversation will result in Russia’s taking practical steps to ensure the disarmament and withdrawal of mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine, as well as the introduction of a reliable security regime on the border,” the statement reads.
