President Zelenskiy Calls For Immediate Ceasefire In Eastern Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. (Wikimedia Commons/President.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday called for an immediate ceasefire in the east of the country, where clashes between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces have escalated in recent days.

He also said Ukraine supports peace talks in the Trilateral Contact Group, in which Ukraine participates together with Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

"We stand to intensify the peace process. We support the immediate meeting of the TCG and the immediate introduction of the silent regime," Zelenskiy said on Twitter, quoted by Reuters on February 21.

Incidents of shooting across the line separating government forces and separatists, which have been sporadic in the past, increased sharply last week.

On Sunday, a Reuters reporter heard explosions in the central city of Donetsk in the separatist-controlled eastern Donbass region. Heavy shelling was heard elsewhere in the region.

SMS messages sent to residents of Donetsk urge men to report for military duty.

More than 30,000 people from nearby Donetsk and Luhansk have crossed the Russian border in the past 24 hours, the TASS news agency said, citing authorities in Russia's Rostov region.

Last week, separatist groups began evacuating residents on Friday saying the Ukrainian government was planning to attack, a charge Kyiv denies.

Local military forces in one of the separatist areas, Luhansk, said on Sunday two civilians had been killed and five buildings damaged in shelling by the Ukrainian military. Russia's Investigative Committee will investigate the case, the RIA news agency was quoted as saying.

Separately, the Ukrainian military said in a statement its troops adhered to the ceasefire agreement and "open fire exclusively when, the actions of the Russian occupying forces pose a threat to the life and health of Ukrainian servicemen and civilians."

Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine was not planning or carrying out any offensive operations. Two Ukrainian soldiers were reported killed and four wounded on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross said water services had been disrupted for more than a million people in the region, and called on all parties to save civilian infrastructure.