Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko replaced the head of the military operation in the east of the country. The new official in charge of the punitive operation is Vasily Gritsak, a former deputy from the Party of Regions, RIA Novosti reports. In addition, Poroshenko approved the plan of taking Donetsk and Luhansk after a meeting with defense officials.
Reportedly, the plan does not stipulate for the storm of Donetsk and Luhansk, but it does include a set of measures to "liberate" the cities from militias. In case of strong resistance, the cities will be blockaded, to force militias to surrender.
Deputy Secretary of the National Security Council agreed plan called "detailed and intelligent" and said that a 10-day ceasefire declared Kiev in the east of the country, was part of a strategy to conduct a special operation, adds, "Russian news service" referring to the Ukrainian "Channel 5".
Spokespeople for the presidential administration of Ukraine named the conditions, under which it would be possible to establish peace in the east of the country. Deputy Chief of Staff Valery Chaly said that militias will have to lay down their arms, whereas the border with Russia will have to be blocked and taken under the control of the OSCE.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko agrees to hold talks with leaders of People's Republics of Donbass, with the participation of Russia.
Donetsk Mayor Alexander Lukyanchenko said that Poroshenko was ready to hold talks with representatives of the People's Republic of Donetsk and of the People's Republic of Luhansk. He made the announcement on Tuesday, July 8, in Donetsk, during a press conference upon his return from Kiev, where he spoke with the President.
According to Lukyanchenko, Poroshenko supported the moves to continue the talks and offered to hold them in Sviatogorsk (the Donetsk region), "with the participation of Russia and representatives of the two breakaway republics."
The mayor also said that in Donetsk, the Ukrainian troops will not use the military tactics that was used in Slavyansk.
"Yesterday, I was in Kiev with people's deputy Boris Kolesnikov. We met with President Poroshenko. We discussed issues related to the movement of most of the militias to Donetsk. It was also said that attack aircraft and heavy artillery would not be used during military operations in Donetsk. For the time being, there are about 900,000 people staying in the city. Evacuating them all is impossible. Therefore, in these circumstances it is necessary to ensure their safety through negotiations at all levels," said Lukyanchenko.
Pravda.Ru