Poroshenko to discuss situation in Donetsk, Luhansk with Ukraine's Security Council

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko will hold a session of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on the latest developments in the south-east of the country.

Poroshenko said on Sunday that the session will focus on discussing joint measures to resolve the crisis in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. “Restoring the national borders is on the agenda. The second priority is taking decisive steps to introduce the peaceful settlement in Donbass,” the president said. “For the sake of peace in Ukraine” the authorities will act “decisively and persistently”. Poroshenko added.

Poroshenko's plan for peaceful settlement
On the day of his inauguration, Poroshenko outlined the plan for the peaceful settlement in the country’s south-east. The major points included the decentralization of power, guarantees for the Russian language status in Ukraine’s east and respect toward the specifics of different regions. Poroshenko said it was important to “economically restructure Donbass” and vowed to support early local elections in the region.

On June 10, Poroshenko ordered to organize a “humanitarian corridor” for civilians to leave the combat areas in Donetsk and Luhansk. Local administrations were tasked with the accommodation of refugees.

The plan for the peaceful settlement, proposed by Poroshenko, is not working, and the humanitarian corridor promised by the president has not been organized yet. The press service of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) said they “have no information about the existence and operation of humanitarian corridors on the territory of the LPR.” Denis Pushilin, Chairman of the Supreme Council of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), confirmed the same was true for the DNR. “It is wrong to talk about humanitarian corridors in the circumstances of active combat. Such statements are just yet another example of populism,” Pushilin said.