Ukraine Observes Truce as Russian Gas Supply Resumes

By Kateryna Choursina and Volodymyr Verbyany Dec 9, 2014 5:00 PM ET

Ukraine and its pro-Russian separatist adversaries grew closer to resuming peace talks after a one-day truce was broken by sporadic firing.

Ukrainian forces didn’t respond to shelling and small-arms fire, and adhered to a cease-fire in the eastern part of the country, the Security and Defense Council said on Facebook following a deal with Russia, the rebels and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Wider truce talks are possible later this week, the Tass news service reported, citing separatists and unidentified officials in Kiev.

The negotiations would be a resumption of those that clinched a Sept. 5 cease-fire in Minsk, Belarus that’s been broken almost daily, with 192 Ukrainian troops killed since, the army said yesterday. Past cease-fire agreements between Ukraine and rebels have failed to end a conflict that’s triggered the worst standoff between Russia and the U.S. and the European Union since the fall of the Iron Curtain.

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Russia began its first shipments of natural gas to Ukraine yesterday since it cut off supplies in June over unpaid bills.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-08/ukraine-to-observe-one-day-truce-amid-plan-for-new-peace-talks.html