Ukraine’s president announces unilateral ceasefire

Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko has made a first step towards peace in his country after saying that he will let pro-Russians lay down their weapons.

After a private phone conversation held with Russian President, Vladimir Putin, his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, announced a unilateral ceasefire in which government troops will allow separatists to leave the country without attacking them.

Poroshenko told journalists that a ‘brief’ truce will let ‘Russian mercenaries’ leave Ukraine.

‘The peace plan begins with my order for a unilateral ceasefire. Immediately after that, we must receive support for the presidential peace plan from all sides involved. This should happen very shortly,’ the Ukrainian president explained.