Putin raps Kiev’s silence over Moscow peace proposal
Russian President Vladimir Putin has slammed the Kiev government for not responding to Moscow’s peace proposal that calls for the removal of heavy weaponry from the division line in Ukraine’s war-torn east.
On Friday, the Russian leader criticized Kiev for ordering a “large-scale” military offensive against pro-Moscow forces operating in Ukraine’s eastern provinces.
“The Kiev authorities have given an official order to start large-scale military operations practically throughout the whole line of contact. The result is tens of killed and wounded, not only among the military on both sides but... among civilians,” Putin said.
The Russian head of state further underlined that those who have authorized the military to use heavy arms in the east bear full responsibility for “the criminal orders,” adding, “Artillery is being used, rocket launchers and aviation, and it is used indiscriminately and over densely populated areas.”
Last week, Putin presented a peace initiative to the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, calling for a ceasefire between the warring sides in eastern Ukraine and the withdrawal of heavy artillery there by both sides.
Donetsk and Lugansk, in eastern Ukraine and with mainly Russian-speaking populations, have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since Kiev’s military operation started in April 2014 in a bid to crush the protests.
The representatives of Ukraine, Russia, and the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk inked a ceasefire deal in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, in September 2014 to end the conflict. However, the truce has been almost daily violated by both the Ukrainian military and the pro-Russia forces.
The conflict between Ukraine’s army and pro-Russians in the eastern regions have killed more than 5,000 people and displaced over a million since mid-April 2014, the UN says.
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