June 22, 2014 -- Updated 0343 GMT (1143 HKT)
The new cease-fire implemented in embattled eastern Ukraine by Ukrainian
President Petro Poroshenko on was clearly under threat. Three Ukrainian
border guards were wounded in a mortar attack. FULL STORY
Ukrainian border guards hurt in separatist attack on 1st day of cease-fire
June 21, 2014 -- Updated 1931 GMT (0331 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Violence erupts amid attempts at new cease-fire in eastern Ukraine
- Pro-Russian separatists attacked with mortars, weapons fire, Ukrainian officials say
- Ukrainian guards repelled a separate attack at a checkpoint nearby
- Kremlin statement says Putin supports a cease-fire
Three Ukrainian border
guards were wounded when pro-Russian separatists launched a mortar
attack and opened fire with automatic weapons near the town of Vyselky,
in the Donetsk region, Ukraine's State Border Service said in a
statement Saturday.
The wounded guards were
evacuated as security forces were notified, according to the Border
Service. The separatists also targeted a nearby checkpoint in Uspenka,
using small arms, but the attack was repelled by guards, the Border
Service said.
Russia and Ukraine have
been engaged in a tense standoff since March, when Russia annexed Crimea
and massed troops along its border with Ukraine.
Ukraine's government in
Kiev has accused Russia of allowing weapons and military equipment to
cross the border illegally into the hands of pro-Russia separatists, who
have led uprisings in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Meanwhile, three military
tanks and 10 armored personnel carriers of unknown origin were seen in
Luhansk, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which
operates a special monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine, said
Saturday.
The military convoy drove
through the city early Friday morning, according to local witnesses and
traffic surveillance camera footage seen by the mission.
The convoy came from the
direction of the Russian border, going east and was observed in
Alchevsk, 27 miles southwest of Luhansk, heading toward Donetsk, OSCE
said.
Meanwhile, four OSCE
monitors from the Donetsk team have been missing for 26 days and four
other monitors from the Luhansk team for 23 days, the group said.
Kremlin responds to cease-fire plan
Also Saturday, Russian
President Vladimir Putin expressed support for Poroshenko's cease-fire
plan, the Kremlin said in a statement.
Putin emphasized that
the plan "should not take the character of an ultimatum to militants"
and that the cease-fire "should be used to begin constructive
negotiations and political compromises between the opponent parties in
eastern Ukraine," according to the Kremlin.
But the statement also mentioned an incident Friday on the Ukrainian-Russian border after the cease-fire was first declared.
The Russian Foreign
Ministry said one of its units in Novoshakhtinsk, near the border with
Ukraine, was shelled, injuring one customs officer.
Ukraine denied that it fired artillery or mortar at the Russian unit.
Putin said in the
statement released Saturday that he considers the incident
"unacceptable," especially because it happened after Poroshenko declared
a cease-fire.
Poroshenko declares cease-fire
Poroshenko declared a cease-fire Friday in Kiev's fight against separatists in the country's pro-Russian east.
He said military units
would respond only if they're attacked and he warned militant fighters
to abandon their weapons before the cease-fire expires on June 27.
"Those who will not lay
down their weapons will be destroyed," Poroshenko said, according to a
statement issued by the Interior Ministry.
Poroshenko announced plans for the cease-fire on Wednesday.
He spoke with Putin by phone on Thursday, according to Poroshenko's office.
Putin has said he backs
an effort to de-escalate tensions in eastern regions and supports a
process to forge a cease-fire and a peace plan.
President: Free hostages
Poroshenko's cease-fire includes the closure of the Ukraine-Russia border and changes to the constitution to decentralize power.
It also offers amnesty
to those who didn't commit serious crimes, the President said. An escape
corridor will be offered for those who disarm to leave Ukraine.
"We expect that hostages
and seized premises will be liberated. We expect that a large number of
civilians will use the security guarantees for the citizens of Donbas,"
Poroshenko said, referring to Ukraine's eastern region.
In his conversation with
Putin, Poroshenko stressed the need for the release of Ukrainian
hostages and to establish effective security controls on the border with
Russia.
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