Hollande, Merkel take note of Putin's support of Ukrainian peace plan - Ukraine’s National Guard shelling Lugansk village despite ceasefire

French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday said they've taken note of Russia's support of Ukrainian unilateral ceasefire plan, but told their Russian counterpart to do more to facilitate the negotiations.

During a phone conversation, the two leaders "called on all parties in the conflict to cease hostilities and asked the Russian President (Vladimir Putin) to further the resumption of negotiations."

Hollande and Merkel who brokered an ice breaking meeting between Kiev and Moscow leaders earlier this month, "recalled the importance of ensuring full control of the Russian-Ukrainian border to prevent infiltration of weapons and gunmen."

On Friday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced a unilateral ceasefire plan aiming at peacefully resolving the conflict in eastern regions, calling on the rebels to lay down weapons and start peace talks with the government in Kiev. 
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/866960.shtml
22/6/14
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• Ukraine’s National Guard shelling Lugansk village despite ceasefire (LPR militia)

A village in the Lugansk region is under continuous shelling from artillery guns by Ukraine’s National Guard servicemen despite the announced ceasefire, the press service of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) told Itar-Tass on Sunday.

• “Despite the announced ceasefire, the National Guards squads continue shelling the village of Ananyevka in the Sverdlovsk district from the Vasilek (Cornflower) mortars,” it said.

The village is located near the Krasny Partizan border checkpoint that is under the militia’s control.
Lugansk saw a tranquil night on Saturday as no air-raid sirens or shelling were heard, the press service of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) told Itar-Tass on Sunday.
“Minor clashes were going on near Izvarino [Ukraine’s border checkpoint],” the press service said. “All the border checkpoints are still under our control but they do not function in order to ensure civilians’ security.”
The LPR militia hold control over the three border checkpoints - Izvarino, Dolzhanskoye and Krasny Partizan.
Lugansk, the capital city of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine, paid its respect to compatriots killed in the Great Patriotic War, the four-year-long war Nazi Germany unleashed against the Soviet Union in the early hours of June 22 in 1941.
A rally organised by the Bulat youth patriotic movement took place in the city centre, with the city officials and veterans laying flowers to the Pylon of Glory monument on the main square.
On June 22 the city residents also recalled the bombing by a Ukrainian air force jet of the Lugansk regional administration building 20 days ago. The act left eighth civilians dead and another 28 wounded.
http://en.itar-tass.com/world/737289
22/6/14
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