The ceasefire between Ukrainians and pro-Russian separatists should be signed today. The announcement, made yesterday by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko during his speech at the NATO summit, is confirmed in a joint statement signed by Aleksandr Zakharchenko, leader of the self-proclaimed republic of Donesk, and Igor Plotnisky, head of the insurgents of the Lugansk region .
The contact group formed by representatives of the separatists, the insurgents, Russia and Poroshenko himself is meeting today in the Belarusian capital Minsk. Zakharchenko and Plotnisky say they are open to a ceasefire if a peaceful and political solution to the crisis emerges from the summit.
The meeting is crucial for the decisions of the 28 EU ambassadors gathered to draw up a new package of sanctions aimed at Russia. The EU summit will therefore meet again tomorrow in the light of what will be the measures taken in Minsk.
The climate of détente, however, seems to be only diplomatic and political. The Ukrainian land continues to shake under explosions both in Donesk and in the new epicenter of the clashes that began with the counter-offensive of the pro-Russian insurgents, Mariupol.
Furthermore, US intelligence is concerned by the massive deployment of Russian forces: there are reportedly more than 10 soldiers at the border. Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren said "the force we see deployed on the border is exceptionally prepared, probably more prepared and lethal than anything we've seen so far."
