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| Ukraine crisis: Kerry demands Russia action 'in hours' | |
| (about 1 hour 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 and the West accuses Russia of fomenting unrest. | |
| Despite the supposed 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. | |
| 'Political process' | |
| "It is critical for Russia to show in the next hours, literally, that they are moving to help disarm the separatists, to encourage them to disarm, to call on them to lay down their weapons and begin to be come part of a legitimate political process," Mr Kerry told reporters, after talks with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. | |
| Russia's President Vladimir Putin held lengthy talks by phone with the leaders of Ukraine, Germany and France on Wednesday. | |
| Mr Putin then spoke to Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel again on Thursday, ahead of a key European Union summit. According to the Kremlin, the pair discussed the "need to extend the ceasefire". | |
| 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. |
| More than 420 people have been killed in violence in the east since mid-April, the UN estimates. | |
| Mr Poroshenko is due to announce plans for increased autonomy for Ukraine's regions in parliament. Ukraine's president, elected last month, had promised moves towards greater autonomy when he was inaugurated. | |
| However, the proposals are not thought to go far enough for many of the separatist leaders. |