Mediaboss Marketing

A daily roundup of terrorism and security issues.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko promised today to propose a bill granting special status to rebellious regions in eastern Ukraine, in a bid to boost support for Kiev amid a shaky cease-fire.

But Mr. Poroshenko said that the east would remain part of Ukraine, underscoring his unwillingness to considercalls from Moscow and pro-Russian rebels for federalization. Kiev has long argued such a move would give the eastern region near complete autonomy and propel it toward secession.

Ukraine will not make any concessions on issues of its territorial integrity, Poroshenko said in remarks during a nationally televised Cabinet meeting addressing the conflict thats so far killed over 3,000, according to the Associated Press.

The president also said that 70 percent of Russian troops in Ukraine have left the country, something he said strengthens our hope for peace prospects, Reuters reports. Russia denies sending troops into Ukraine, a claim that Kiev and its Western supporters strongly dispute.

But Poroshenko also noted that"the cease-fire was not proving easy to maintain because 'terrorists' were constantly trying to provoke Kiev's forces."

The Ukrainian leader's speech comes as he faces mounting pressure in western Ukraine to prove that he did not negotiate away Ukraines territorial integrity during cease-fire talks last week, The Wall Street Journal reports.

It also comes as European Union officials meet in Brussels today to discuss a second set of sanctions against Russiathatwere to be announced earlier this week but were delayed to "assess the viability of a truce in Ukraine without risking further trade retaliation by Russia," Bloomberg notes.

Poroshenko gave few details as to what special status in the east would entail, but said it would be largely along the lines of the 12-point plan agreed to on Friday. But rebel leaders quickly pushed back.

A senior leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic said that his group was not backing down from its demand for full independence from Kiev, the Journal reports:

View post:
Ukraine promises 'special status' for east, but no territorial concessions (+video)