Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said after his meeting in Brussels today with the EU Council President Donald Tusk, via Brussels correspondent @RikardJozwiak:
"It's in our joint interest to deploy peacekeepers, and this is the initiative that was launched by the Ukrainian President [Petro Poroshenko] and the Ukrainian government, and we expect that our European friends will support this idea because everyone wants to get peace in Europe. And one of the tools to reach to this peace is to deploy peacekeepers."
"I strongly reject any debates on easening of sanctions. What we can talk about, we can talk about the roll-over and the way how to scale up sanctions in case if Russia is not eager to implement the Minsk deal. Because look, what is the success of [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin? What is the formula of Russian stability? This is instability in the EU and if Putin splits the unity among EU member states and among the leaders of the EU member countries, this will be the biggest success story of President Putin and this will be the disaster for the free world."
More than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers have died fighting pro-Russian insurgents in eastern Ukraine, according to government figures. Many left behind wives and children. As our Ukrainian Service reports in this piece, local charities are playing a key role in helping those families overcome financial hardship and cope with their loss.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel talking to the German parliament today:
"Last year, we Europeans, introduced sanctions in several rounds of meetings. Those expiring in July and September, respectively, we won't be able to suspend if only the first demands of the Minsk agreement have been met. That would be wrong."
"Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova have signed association agreements with the European Union. The goal is European support in setting up a functioning state of law, a successful market economy, and to improve the standard of living for the people in those countries. The goal is not a European Union or NATO membership."
Today's conflict map from Ukrainian military authorities:
