Editor's Note: The following is a statement from Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
Read the statement here and below
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has declared ceasefire along the entire line of hostilities in Donetsk and Luhansk region from February 15, 00:00.
Respective statement was made by the President on the premises of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Saturday, February 14, at 23:55.
“Ukraine has always treated its international commitments with great responsibility. We are willing to prove that once again. In a few minutes, glorious Armed Forces, the National Guard, the Border Troops, the units of the Ministry of the Interior and the Security Service of Ukraine will execute my order as Supreme Commander-in-Chief to cease fire along the entire line of clash with the enemy in Donetsk and Luhansk regions as stipulated by the agreements achieved in Minsk in the Normandy format with participation of the Presidents of Ukraine, France, Russia and the Chancellor of Germany,” the President noted.
The Head of State emphasizes that Ukraine counts on a responsible attitude of the opposite party to the fulfillment of undertaken obligations, as negotiations have reached the highest level.
The Ukrainian Crisis Media Center also translated his live broadcast below:
Ukraine has always complied with its international obligations. We are ready to demonstrate our determination and uphold this principle again. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is going to order the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the National Guard of Ukraine and the Border Guard to cease their fire along the entire frontline in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the next minutes. The ceasefire takes place according to the agreements reached in Minsk between the leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia.
Pacta sunt servanda is a principle that was not invented by us, but we strictly abide to it.
Ukraine expects the opposing side will act with much greater responsibility than before, considering the fact that negotiations have been conducted at the highest political level.
We have accounted for the announcement of one of militant leaders regarding his intentions to cease fire. We hope that the price of his words will be worth the paper on which he signed the order.
We are experiencing a whole array of sentiments in these minutes: optimism and pessimism, hope and skepticism, faith and concern. The situation around Debaltseve causes great concerns. For us it is a military springboard, while claims about encirclement is either a sick hallucination or wishful thinking. We can just recall an old proverb that honey is sweet, but the bee stings.
The Russian side demonstrated an excessive interest in the situation around Debaltseve on the eyes of the whole world during the Minsk negotiations. We were ready to take the Russian representatives on the battlefield. Yet they did not express any desire to come there and see that there is no encirclement around the city. Debaltseve, or rather what has remained from it after intensive shelling by the terrorists, is under control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Therefore I think the fact of using the tense situation on the outskirts of Debaltseve by militants-terrorists-mercenaries poses a great threat, which can violate the ceasefire regime. I am warning all participants of the Minsk negotiations, including the Russian Federation, which identifies itself as the guarantor of the reached agreements. In my opinion, it is too much to say that force is necessary to guarantee action from those you fully control; a mere political will is enough.
In the course of the last two days, I have divided my virtually round-the-clock working time on two major parts: meetings with the heads of the Ukrainian military and law-enforcement in order to ensure ceasefire, and diplomatic consultations regarding the same issue. I had a telephone conversation with President Barack Obama just a couple of hours ago after group telephone call with Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Barak Obama. The whole world held its breath, arduously anticipating tomorrow’s sunset.
I will not tell what are we going to do in case if the militants decide to violate ceasefire. I will only tell that if we get attacked, we shall retaliate, and let God help us.
This is probably the last chance to restore a hard and long-term pathway toward political settlement of the conflict in Donbas.
I will put all my efforts to prevent any careless actions or unjustified fire that may undermine this opportunity.
Ukraine is interested in peace more than anyone else. For those who like to speculate about protecting the “Russian-speakers”, Russian-speaking Ukrainians and Ukrainian-speakers too are only a cannon fodder in the struggle for the restoration of empire.
