Kiev to deploy more troops to east to foil attacks

More military units will be deployed to protect Kharkiv, Berdyansk, Mariupol and the north of Luhansk against any possible offensive by the pro-Russian forces, Poroshenko said during a meeting of the country’s National Security and Defense Council in Kiev on Tuesday.

He also denounced the recent leadership and parliamentary elections in Donetsk and Luhansk, calling them “a farce.”

"Two days ago on the territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions a farce happened which jeopardized the Minsk agreement and the peace process, and destroyed the political dialog," the Ukrainian president stated.

On September 5, a truce agreement was signed by representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the Donetsk People's Republic, and the Luhansk People's Republic in the Belarusian capital Minsk in an effort to halt the war in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that the elections in eastern Ukraine over the weekend are “unfortunate and counterproductive.”

The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Luhansk have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since Kiev’s military operation started in mid-April in a bid to crush the protests.

Violence intensified in May after the two flashpoint regions held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation.

HK