East Ukraine offered limited self-rule

According to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s website on Monday, he told top lawmakers that the offer would be part of the ceasefire agreement reached in the Belarusian capital Minsk.

It also said that he wishes to formally present the offer to parliament on Tuesday.

According to reports, the bill also extends the rights of the people of Lugansk and Donetsk, permitting them to speak Russian in state institutions and hold local elections in November.

The bill will also allow the regions to “strengthen good neighborly relations” between local authorities and their Russian counterparts, and promises to aid restoring the damaged infrastructure and to supply social and economic support to severely damaged areas.

The Ukrainian military and the pro-Russians have repeatedly accused each other of violating the truce since it came into effect.

The ceasefire agreement was reached between Kiev and the pro-Russians on September 5, after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Poroshenko hammered out a compromise deal aimed at ending the heavy fighting.

Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking regions in the east have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Moscow forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations to silence pro-Russians in mid-April.

HK