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Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko shows a signed landmark association agreement with the European Union during a session of the parliament in Kiev, Sept. 16, 2014. REUTERS

DONETSK, Ukraine -- Ukraine's parliament ratified an agreement to deepen economic and political ties with the European Union on Tuesday, and passed legislation to grant autonomy to the rebellious east as part of a peace deal.

The ratification vote draws a line under the issue that last year sparked Ukraine's crisis, which resulted in the ousting of the president, the annexation of Crimea by Russia and a war with the Russia-backed separatists that has killed more than 2,600 people.

Earlier in the day, the parliament in closed session approved two bills on granting greater autonomy to the rebellious regions in the east as well as amnesty for most of those involved in the fighting. The bills are part of a tenuous peace process that saw a cease-fire called on Sept. 5 but that has been repeatedly violated.

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Pro-Russian fighters square off against Ukrainian state troops for control of eastern Ukraine near the Russsian border

The city council in Donetsk says three people were killed in shelling overnight.

The EU association agreement was long sought by Ukrainians who want their country to turn westward and out of Russia's sphere of influence. After then-President Viktor Yanukovych shelved the deal last year, protests broke out that eventually spiraled into violence and led to Yanukovych fleeing the country.

In the wake of that, Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and a pro-Russia rebellion broke out in eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces in April launched a military operation to put down the rebellion, which it claims gets substantial support including troops and equipment from Russia.

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Ukraines parliament approved a law giving special status to the countrys two easternmost regions while a cease-fire, now in its 11th day, came under threat as some separatists called for a resumption of fighting.

The parliament in Kiev approved the special status bill and an amnesty law envisaged in the cease-fire agreement, Deputy Speaker Ruslan Koshulynskiy said by phone today. Under the measure, certain areas controlled by pro-Russian separatists will hold early local elections on Dec. 7, enjoy a special economic and investment regime and have the right to use Russian as a second official language.

The situation in Donetsk remains tense after one civilian was killed today and the city council reported intensive military operations in two of its districts. The clashes are throwing the Sept. 5 cease-fire into further doubt. The U.S. and other NATO allies began military exercises yesterday in Ukraine, which says Russia has about 25,000 troops along the border and more than 3,000 soldiers inside the country. The government in Moscow denies involvement in the conflict.

The drills have the potential to lead to a destabilization of the situation, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in a phone interview. The truce is very fragile. It is just the start of the settlement. Russia consistently continues to do all it can to help promote the resolution of Ukraines internal crisis.

People walk in a market gallery destroyed by shelling in the Kievsky district in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on Sept. 15, 2014. Close

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People walk in a market gallery destroyed by shelling in the Kievsky district in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on Sept. 15, 2014.

Pro-Russian rebels earlier today suggested combining the forces in Luhansk and Donetsk and switching to offensive tactics, according to their address to separatist leaders posted on the Donetsk separatists website.

The conflict has claimed more than 3,000 lives, according to the United Nations, and clashes have occurred daily since a truce took effect.

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Ukraine Truce Threatened by Clashes as NATO Holds Drills

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) Ukraine's parliament ratified an agreement to deepen economic and political ties with the European Union on Tuesday, and passed legislation to grant autonomy to the rebellious east as part of a peace deal.

The ratification vote, synchronized with the European parliament by video chat, draws a line under the issue that last year sparked Ukraine's crisis, which resulted in the ousting of the president, the annexation of Crimea by Russia and a war with the Russia-backed separatists that has killed more than 3,000 people.

The ratification vote in Kiev was met with a standing ovation, and members of parliament leapt to their feet to sing the Ukrainian national anthem. In a speech to legislators, President Petro Poroshenko called the vote a "first but very decisive step" toward bringing Ukraine fully into the European Union.

Poroshenko also said that those who died during the protests and during fighting in the east "gave up their lives so that we could take a dignified place among the European family."

"Since World War II, not a single nation has paid such a high price for their right to be European," he said.

In stark contrast to that fanfare, parliament went behind closed doors earlier in the day to approve two bills granting greater autonomy to rebellious regions in the east, as well as amnesty for many of those involved in the fighting. The bills are part of a tenuous peace process that saw a cease-fire called on Sept. 5, which has been repeatedly violated and criticized by many in Ukraine.

On Tuesday, the city council in Donetsk said three people and five wounded in shelling overnight. Col. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine's national security council, said three Ukrainian servicemen were killed over the past day. Clashes continue in the area around the airport in Donetsk, the largest city under rebel control.

The legislation on autonomy falls short of the eastern rebels' aim for complete independence, but rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko told Russia's RIA Novosti news agency that the rebel leadership would study the measures.

The EU association agreement was long sought by Ukrainians who want their country to turn westward and out of Russia's sphere of influence. After then-President Viktor Yanukovych shelved the deal last year, protests broke out that eventually spiraled into violence and led to Yanukovych fleeing the country.

In the wake of that, Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and a pro-Russia rebellion broke out in eastern Ukraine.

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3 killed, 5 wounded in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine

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