Separatists in Eastern Ukraine Refuse Peace Plan

KIEV, Ukraine — Pro-Russian separatists said “nyet” to President Petro Poroshenko’s suggestion on Wednesday that they disarm just days before a proposed cease-fire by Ukrainian troops begins.

Speaking to graduates at a military university in Kiev, Poroshenko said the cease-fire is a critical start to his 14-step peace plan to curb what he called the "state of war” that has engulfed the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk for months.

The president’s peace proposal includes an offer of amnesty to those separatists who have not committed serious crimes as well as safe passage to those willing to leave the country. Read more...