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| Kerry demands Russia action on Ukraine 'in hours' | Kerry demands Russia action on Ukraine 'in hours' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| US Secretary of State John Kerry has called on Russia to show "within hours" it is working to disarm separatist militants in eastern Ukraine. | US Secretary of State John Kerry has called on Russia to show "within hours" it is working to disarm separatist militants in eastern Ukraine. |
| He was speaking to reporters in Paris a day before a shaky ceasefire was due to end in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. | He was speaking to reporters in Paris a day before a shaky ceasefire was due to end in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. |
| Russia denies it has let pro-Moscow separatists and heavy weaponry cross its border into eastern Ukraine. | Russia denies it has let pro-Moscow separatists and heavy weaponry cross its border into eastern Ukraine. |
| The US and EU are threatening to impose further sanctions if Russia does not do more to defuse the situation. | The US and EU are threatening to impose further sanctions if Russia does not do more to defuse the situation. |
| Separatist leaders in Donetsk and Luhansk have declared independence. | Separatist leaders in Donetsk and Luhansk have declared independence. |
| Despite the truce between Ukraine's government and pro-Russian rebels, there have been several outbreaks of violence. On Tuesday, a Ukrainian helicopter was shot down with the loss of nine lives. | |
| Russia's President Vladimir Putin held lengthy talks by phone with the leaders of Ukraine, Germany and France on Wednesday and they were expected to speak again on Thursday ahead of a key European Union summit. | |
| Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko is set to sign a far-reaching free trade deal in Brussels on Friday as part of an EU association agreement. | |
| The crisis in Ukraine dates back to last November, when President Viktor Yanukovych decided not to sign the agreement at the last minute, opting instead for closer ties with Moscow. | |
| After months of protests, he eventually fled the country and was deposed as president. | |
| Russia then moved to annex Ukraine's Crimea region and pro-Russia separatists took over key buildings in dozens of eastern cities, claiming that extremists had taken power in Kiev. |