Ukraine pledges more autonomy to rebellious east

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Wednesday that he will offer separatists in the rebellious eastern regions more autonomy but ruled out any federalization that would break up the country.

He promised to submit a bill to parliament as early as next week that would likely call for more more autonomy in such areas as law enforcement, political appointments and protection of the Russian language.

In a televised cabinet meeting, Poroshenko said that the cease-fire deal signed by Ukraine, Russia and the rebels last week in Minsk "envisages the restoration and preservation of Ukrainian sovereignty over the entire territory of Donbas, including the part that is temporarily under control of the rebels."

Donbas is the largely industrialized region of eastern Ukraine, including the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, where large numbers of ethnic Russians live.

He stressed, however, that the country would remain united: "Ukraine has made no concessions with regards to its territorial integrity."

The Ukrainian leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Tuesday and said they were satisfied with the way the truce appeared to be holding, a Kremlin official said Wednesday.

Ukraine and the West have repeatedly accused Russia of fueling the pro-Russia separatists with arms, expertise, and even its own troops, something Russia denies. In late August, NATO estimated that more than 1,000 Russian troops were operating on Ukrainian soil, coinciding with a major rebel campaign to push back Kiev's troops, particularly around the port city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov.

Nearly 3,000 people have been killed in fighting between Ukrainian armed forces and pro-Russia separatists since April, according to the latest United Nations report.

Rebels have declared some sections of eastern Ukraine as independent republics and rejected any call for a united Ukraine, even with more autonomy.

Andrei Purgin, deputy prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, responded to Poroshenko's latest comments on autonomy by saying that rebels "are not considering remaining part of Ukraine," Reuters reports.

In his remarks, Poroshenko also that Russia had withdrawn 70% of its forces from Ukraine in the wake of a cease-fire agreement. "This is another hope that peaceful initiatives have a good perspective," he said, Ukrinform reports.

In the rebel-stronghold of Luhansk, Igor Plotnitsky, head of the self-declared Luhansk People's Republic, said he expects the separatists' bid for statehood to be part of political discussions with Kiev in the "near future."

"Neither we nor our friends in Donetsk are planning to give up our course towards building our own statehood," he said, the Russian state-run ITAR-TASS news agency reports. "Temporary cease-fire cannot cancel the results of people's will. The people of the Donbas region univocally voted for the independence of our two republics (from Ukraine). So, there can be no return to their previous status."

At the same time, Plotnitsky acknowledged that the road to true independence was going to "be long and hard."

Petroshenko also said that 700 Ukrainian prisoners had been released by rebels and expressed hope that 500 more would be freed by the end of the week.

While the cease-fire appeared to be gaining traction, some Ukrainian officials cautioned those who fled the troubled eastern regions not to rush back just yet.

Andriy Lysenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, said despite the cease-fire, there are reports daily of violations "by terrorists."

"So we still do not advise our citizens to return to the territory temporarily occupied by terrorists," he said Wednesday, according to Ukrinform. "This is dangerous."

There have been numerous violations of the cease-fire, and Ukraine says that five servicemen have been killed and 33 injured since Friday. A volley of rocket fire could be heard in Donetsk late Tuesday, although the local city council did not report any casualties overnight.

Contributing: Associated Press

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