Russia’s President Vladimir Putin speaks after a summit in Minsk, Belarus, on the conflict in eastern Ukraine, February 12, 2015. © AFP
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has called on the encircled Ukrainian troops in eastern regions of the country to lay down arms for a newly-signed ceasefire to take effect.
“Of course, they (pro-Russia forces) proceed from the assumption that this group will lay down arms and stop putting up resistance,” Putin said after peace negotiations with the leaders of Germany, France and Ukraine in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on Thursday.
Some 8,000 Ukrainian troops are now surrounded by the pro-Russians in the city of Debaltseve, following around two weeks of heavy fighting between the two sides. The battle for Debaltseve erupted after Ukrainian troops tried to storm a railway which connects two major strongholds of pro-Russia forces in the region, namely Lugansk…
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