Russia Slams Failed Ukraine Ceasefire, Says Border Post Came Under Fire

Ukraine Seeks 10 km Border 'Buffer Zone'

Russia has issued a statement slamming Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s Wednesday “ceasefire” announcement, saying it amounted to little more than an ultimatum for eastern rebels and was not the invitation to negotiation they’d hoped for.

That seemed to be how Ukraine’s military was treating it, giving rebels three hours to surrender to them after the announcement before launching a massive offensive, which military spokesmen claim killed 300 rebels.

Russia’s statement also complained about one of their border checkpoints coming under fire during the fighting in the east, and they demanded an apology from Ukraine on the matter.

Poroshenko has called for another ceasefire after the first one collapsed, and is also pushing a plan for a 10 km “buffer zone” between the Russian and Ukrainian border. The parts of the plan made public so far have not made it clear whether the buffer zone will be on Ukraine’s side of the border, or Russia’s.

Of course, every time Russia expresses discomfort with Ukraine’s eastern war, the US follows up with claims of imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, and was again hyping claims of Russia amassing outdated artillery to ship to the rebels. Russia has denied the claims of a build-up along the border.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.