Image by UNICEF Ukraine
U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine today to confer with Ukrainian government officials on the conflict in Donbass with pro-Russian separatists. The trip coincided with a ‘ceasefire’ that is scheduled to go into effect on the start of the school year in the region.
“In light of support of the ‘Normandy Four’ on August 22, we confirm our commitment to the cessation of hostilities as of midnight on August 25,” said Martin Sajdik, the envoy for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), reported Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
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The development was said to be attributed to a recent call between world powers who have been attempting to find a way out of the crisis. France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine have been dubbed the ‘Normandy Four.’
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The cease-fire for the back-to-school season “seems like a very good idea. We would obviously fully support that and hope the sides could do that,” American Ukraine envoy Kurt Volker told the Lithuanian news service.
Mattis is said to be attending a parade in Kyiv on the 24th and also meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
