Kiev's troops and self-defense forces in eastern Ukraine have begun a ceasefire in a new bid to try and end years of hostilities. The truce came into force from midnight on Monday and had been agreed last week by negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
The Ukrainian army said an order had been issued to comply with a “full and comprehensive ceasefire,” AFP reports. Representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in Donbass said no violations had been registered so far. Under the terms of the agreement, the use of any weapons, including small arms, is prohibited.
Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky was constructive, meaningful and substantive.
The Kremlin press service said earlier that the two presidents discussed the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict and exchanged views on the situation around the coronavirus pandemic during Sunday’s telephone talks, which had been initiated by Kiev.