MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The leader of Ukraine's Radical Party Oleh Lyashko has announced that his sister has joined the ranks of pro-independence fighters in Donbas, where Kiev forces have been conducting a military operation since last spring.
"My sister Victoria who I grew up with, she is fighting with weapons in her hands on the side of terrorists [Donbas militia] in Luhansk," Lyashko has told the "112 Ukraine" TV channel.
Kiev authorities launched a military operation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in mid-April, 2014, in response to local residents' refusal to recognize the new coup-installed government.
This week, the Contact Group on Ukraine agreed on a number of measures aimed at ending the conflict in southeastern Ukraine. The agreement was signed at the conclusion of a 16-hour Normandy Quartet meeting in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. The Normandy format talks ended with Russian President Vladimir Putin, his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande signing of a joint declaration in support of the measures agreed upon by the Contact Group.
The measures include a ceasefire between Kiev forces and Donbas independence supporters, the creation of a buffer zone between the two conflicting sides through the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the region and an all-for-all prisoner exchange.
The ceasefire comes into force at midnight (Kiev time) on February 15.
