Poroshenko pledges more autonomy to Ukraine's rebellious east

Ukraine's president promised on Wednesday to introduce a bill to parliament as early as next week that would offer greater autonomy to rebellious regions in the pro-Russia east, where separatists have been battling government troops for almost five months.

But Petro Poroshenko added that the regions would remain part of Ukraine and also rejected the idea of federalization, something both Russia and pro-Moscow separatists have continued to push for even after a cease-fire agreement took effect on Friday.

The agreement, which was reached in Belarus, "envisages the restoration and preservation of Ukrainian sovereignty over the entire territory of Donbas, including the part that is temporarily under control of the rebels," Poroshenko said during a televised Cabinet meeting. "Ukraine has made no concessions with regards to its territorial integrity."

Poroshenko was vague on the specifics of his bill in his speech on Tuesday. But a previous peace plan laid out in June envisaged protection of the Russian language, joint patrols of federal and local police and allowing local representatives to give their approval for governors, who are appointed by Kiev.

All of those concessions are minor in comparison to what the separatists want. Many have demanded full independence from Kiev, but even their calls for federalization of Ukraine would require local control over security forces and elections for governor.

But Poroshenko may have difficulty in formulating a bill that is palatable to both the separatists and his parliament, which is gearing up for October elections in a political climate in which the public has been largely supportive of the war in the east.

The political development came as Poroshenko suggested that 70 percent of Russian troops had been withdrawn from the country since the cease-fire began — a move he said boosted the prospects for peace. He also said that 700 Ukrainian prisoners had been freed from rebel captivity, and expressed hope that another 500 would be freed by the end of the week.

"This gives us hope that there are good prospects for the peace initiative," he said. 

NATO had said last month that Russia had funneled in at least 1,000 elite troops and heavy weaponry to support pro-Kremlin rebels fighting in eastern Ukraine, dramatically raising the stakes in the conflict.

The president admitted that "implementing the cease-fire is very difficult," and accused separatists of "provoking" the Ukrainian troops. There have been several violations of the cease-fire, and Ukraine says that five servicemen have been killed and 33 injured since Friday. A volley of rocket fire could be heard in Donetsk late on Tuesday, although the local city council didn't report any casualties overnight.

Wire services