Ukraine confirms Russia pulling back
BRUSSELS — Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Russia has withdrawn more than two-thirds of its troops from his country, while European Union governments are mulling whether to impose tougher sanctions against the Kremlin.
“According to the latest information from our intelligence unit, 70 per cent of Russia’s troops have been recalled across the border,” Poroshenko said Wednesday in Kyiv. “This gives more hope that the peace initiatives have good prospects.”
Talks in Brussels among the EU’s 28-member nations come on the heels of its abrupt decision this week to put on hold a second package of economic penalties against Russia over its encroachment in Ukraine. The delay has provided time to assess the viability of a truce without risking further trade retaliation by Russia. President Vladimir Putin denies any Russian government involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
The planned sanctions include barring some Russian state-owned defence and energy companies from raising capital in the EU.
Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said he believed the EU would decide in favour of more sanctions, to come into force Friday. “Finland’s stance is crystal clear: we support sanctions,” he said. “This is a matter of war and peace.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told parliament in Berlin she supported additional sanctions on Russia, noting the new penalties could be lifted if the peace plan holds.
In Moscow, Putin warned of the threat the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is posing to Russian security by building up its forces in eastern Europe. NATO is using the conflict in Ukraine as a new lease on life, Putin said at a meeting on defence planning in the Kremlin.
Russia must confront “potential threats to the military security” of the country, Putin said.
The ceasefire that Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists agreed to on Sept. 5 has raised the prospect of ending a conflict that has killed at least 3,000 people, displaced more than one million and soured Russia’s ties with its former Cold War foes.
“Both sides are complying with the truce,” Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military, said Wednesday afternoon. “New shelling was not observed.”
Earlier Wednesday, Lysenko said sporadic fighting was continuing around the Donetsk airport and the border guard service said three of its personnel were killed in the Luhansk region.
Rebels have released almost 700 Ukrainian nationals they were holding, Lysenko said.
Poroshenko, who spoke with Putin by phone Tuesday, indicated he’s willing to grant more autonomy to some eastern regions, where Russian is the main language.