After the ceasefire came… gunfire!

(Baonghean) -The one-week ceasefire order of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has ended, and over the past seven days, the war situation has shown no signs of easing. Observers all believe that seven days is not enough to find the best solution that all sides can accept. And after the ceasefire order ended, at the negotiating table, representatives of the Ukrainian government and representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic still could not find a common voice. Thus, it can be concluded that Mr. Poroshenko's "initiatives" have failed.

Ukrainian soldiers at a military base near the city of Svyatogorsk, eastern Ukraine. Photo: Reuters.

During the 7-day ceasefire, gunfire still rang out in the East, the press agency of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic said, units of the national guard continued to fire artillery at the village of Ananhevka in Lugansk province. This village is located not far from the "Red Guerrillas" checkpoint currently controlled by local self-defense forces. Local media reported that the Ukrainian army also fired artillery at the outskirts of Lugansk. Earlier, right after the first day of the ceasefire, on the night of June 21, residents of Andrivka village, near the city of Slavyansk, the site of fierce fighting between government troops and armed opposition forces in the East, still heard the rumble of artillery shells of all kinds. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government army and pro-separatist forces blamed each other for the fighting just hours after the ceasefire. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, just four hours after the ceasefire, eastern gunmen used machine guns and grenades to attack military bases in eastern Donetsk and several other points near the border with Russia. Military units did not respond to some attacks by separatist forces. Meanwhile, representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic announced that Slavyansk continued to be heavily bombarded by Ukrainian airstrikes and artillery. Earlier, a senior leader of Ukrainian separatist forces rejected the conditions of President Petro Poroshenko's peace plan, asserting that pro-federalization gunmen would not lay down their arms until Kiev withdrew all its forces in eastern Ukraine. Many separatist protesters also considered the ceasefire a deception. However, the ceasefire and President Poroshenko's 16-point peace plan were still welcomed by the world public.

In a related development to ease tensions, on June 24, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had asked the Federation Council (ie the Senate) to abolish the resolution allowing him to intervene militarily in Ukraine. This proposal was immediately supported by the Senate and highly appreciated by the US and its Western allies. Meanwhile, the US is still increasing pressure on Russia with sanctions. German Chancellor Angela Merkel had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Ms. Merkel suggested extending the ceasefire agreement to have more time to find a way to thoroughly resolve the crisis. As for the Ukrainian President, he is trying to call on Russia to support the peace plan with concrete actions, not empty words. At the same time, Mr. Poroshenko asked Moscow to stop sending troops across the border of the two countries. Yesterday (June 27), President Poroshenko held a meeting, called a “contact group” including former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, Moscow’s special envoy to Kiev and a senior official from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). And the ceasefire was extended by Mr. Poroshenko for another 72 hours.

However, observers believe that the next 72 hours will certainly not achieve any results. If we really want to end the separatist situation in the East, we need to take more constructive steps than issuing an ultimatum. Because moving from military confrontation to normal dialogue is not simple. Moreover, on June 27, the European Union signed a historic free trade agreement with Ukraine, which is also considered to deepen the divide between regions of this second largest country in Europe. And so, after this ceasefire, people do not have much faith in real peace, but still war and artillery shells.

Southern Scenery