Thousands Flee Ukraine for Russia; Truce Nears End
As a shaky cease-fire in the east entered its final hours Thursday,
thousands of Ukrainians in cars stuffed with belongings lined up at the
border to cross into Russia, some vowing never to return.
Many said they were most frightened for their children and desperate to take them to safety.
Also on Thursday, four of eight observers from the Organization for
Security and Co-operation in Europe who were held hostage in eastern
Ukraine were released, the organization said in a news release.
A commander at the rebel-controlled border post outside the city of
Luhansk said 5,000 people had left by evening, joining a stream that he
said has continued unabated during the weeklong truce that has failed to
end the gunfire and shelling.
Russia says tens of thousands of Ukrainians have come in the 2 1/2
months since Ukraine's government began fighting separatists in the
east, a heavily industrial region with a large population of ethnic
Russians, many of whom feel strong ties to Moscow.
Air strikes and artillery attacks by the Ukrainian military have
infuriated many residents, and many crossing the border on Thursday said
they were fleeing the fighting, which has killed more than 400 people
since mid-April by the United Nations' estimate.
Those who talked to Associated Press journalists, however, said nothing
to indicate that they supported the armed separatists, who have seized
government buildings, declared independence and asked Russia to annex
the region.
With the cease-fire set to expire on Friday, Ukrainian President Petro
Poroshenko called on Russia to support his peace plan "with deeds, not
words." He urged Moscow to stop the flow of fighters from Russia.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
said they, too, were looking for more action from Moscow ahead of a
summit on Friday of European Union leaders, who will be considering a
new round of sanctions against Russia.
"It is critical for Russia to show in the next hours, literally, that
they're moving to help disarm the separatists, to encourage them to
disarm," Kerry said in Paris.
The summit also will see Ukraine sign a sweeping trade agreement with the EU that will bind it more closely to the West.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged Poroshenko to extend the
truce and hold talks with the separatists in the eastern Donetsk and
Luhansk regions.
Poroshenko announced Thursday that representatives of the mutinous
regions have agreed to talks with Russian, Ukrainian and European
envoys. It will be the second round of talks since Monday in which the
rebel leaders have participated.
Russian news agencies quoted Andrei Purgin, a leader of the
self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, as saying the next round
would be held Friday in Donetsk.
Poroshenko has shown no willingness to extend the cease-fire, and his next step may hinge on the outcome of the talks.
It was unclear how many Ukrainians will end up settling in Russia.
Russia's migration service said last week that it had registered the
arrival of 90,000 Ukrainians, but few asked for refugee status, which
would oblige them to stay in Russia at least six months.
Many of those at the Izvaryne crossing on Thursday were taking household
items, including refrigerators. One family from a village near
Slovyansk, a separatist stronghold that has come under frequent shelling
from the military, said they "hated Ukraine" and would not return.
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