Speaking at the National University of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s graduation on June 18, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called for a temporary ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, according to Interfax Ukraine.
Poroshenko declared that “Ukraine is in a state of war,” and that Russia is waging “a new type of warfare – with the use of professional subversive groups, mercenaries, volunteers, and the local population. And these volunteers and the local population have ‘washed’ brains in a huge part due to the information war.”
The president said the Ukrainian military will halt their operations in eastern Ukraine, in the hopes that the Russian-backed militants who have been fomenting separatism there will lay down their arms.
“The plan starts with my order of unilateral ceasefire. We should gain support [for] the president’s peace plan [from] all the participants in the Donbas…immediately after that,” said Poroshenko.
The Ukrainian government has been combatting separatism in eastern Ukraine since April 6, when Kremlin-supported militants began occupying buildings in Luhansk, Donetsk, and Kharkiv Oblasts. Since coming to power, Poroshenko has called for peace, while maintaining that he is willing to use force to quell separatism.
The president expressed hope in his graduation speech that his plan will restore order in eastern Ukraine “very quickly.”
Poroshenko assured graduating students that “the Ukrainian army will be the number one priority for me, for the Ukrainian government, the Ukrainian budget, and the Ukrainian population.”
His remarks come as irregular pro-Ukraine battalions have become an increasingly important complement to the Ukrainian army in the government’s attempt to regain control over Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts.
The Ukrainian army and National Guard, which have been plagued by inadequate resources, have suffered heavy losses at the hands of pro-Russian militants in recent weeks, raising questions about their ability to stabilize the country’s eastern regions.
Kyiv Post Staff Writer Isaac Webb can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter at @isaacdwebb.
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