Updated on 02:29 p.m. Moscow Time
DONETSK, September 3 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s decision to call for a ceasefire in the country’s east is unilateral and no one has agreed with the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) so the ceasefire may be ignored, DPR First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Purgin’s aide told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.
“This is some sort of a game by Kiev. This was completely unexpected. This decision was made without us,” Purgin’s aide quoted him as saying.
According to the aide, Purgin also called Kiev’s decision impractical for the DPR as long as there are Ukrainian troops in the republic.
Purgin is a participant in the Minsk talks between the DPR and Ukrainian authorities, which are mediated by the European Union and Russia. The previous round of talks was held on September 1, the next one is scheduled for September 5.
Purgin’s aide told RIA Novosti that DPR representatives are now preparing to continue negotiations and that a ceasefire might be on the agenda.
Ukraine's southeast has been under fire since mid-April, when Kiev launched a military operation aimed at suppressing independence supporters who refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new Kiev government that came to power after a February coup.
Thousands of people have been affected by the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ continuous shelling. Ukraine’s southeastern regions are currently in a state of humanitarian catastrophe, with citizens struggling without water and electricity.
