Reaffirming his control over the conflict-torn eastern parts of Ukraine, President Petro Poroshenko has declared that the nation would not give up “an inch of its land” to Russian-backed separatists.
He made the above statement while addressing a crowd of several thousand in central Kiev on Sunday as violence in eastern Ukraine touched a new peak of intensity, reported Fox News.
The separatist stronghold of Donetsk has witnessed intense shelling from both sides as the battle to claim control over the city’s airport raged. Streets in the city, which were home to nearly one million people earlier, were completely deserted.
A truce agreement forged in early December unraveled one week into the New Year despite international efforts to put together a lasting ceasefire deal.
A new agreement that was expected to be forged during high-level peace talks in Kazakhstan on Thursday were postponed indefinitely.
While the United States has accused rebels of occupying territory beyond the line of contact agreed upon after a much-violated cease-fire deal in September, Russia, which has been unambiguous in its diplomatic support of the separatist stance, has accused Ukrainians of weakening the prospects of the Minsk cease-fire deal.
(ANI)