KIEV
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced on Saturday that 25 Ukrainian soldiers have been released by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Poroshenko announced on social media that: "25 soldiers were released in Snejnoe town from captivity tonight."
The Ukrainian President signed a law on October 16 granting "special status" to local authorities in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics.
He said this law would allow them to rule themselves for three years and laid the ground for local elections to be held in the regions in December.
However, pro-Russian separatists refused to recognize the law and declared parliamentary and presidential elections on November 2 in the regions under their control.
The crisis was triggered in November 2013 when ousted former president Viktor Yanukovych announced the abandonment of a trade agreement with the EU and chose to pursue closer ties with Russia.
It resulted in the Russian annexation of Crimea and unrest in Ukraine’s eastern regions.
Despite a cease-fire between Kiev and pro-Russian rebels drawn up at a September 5 summit in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, the separatists have organized frequent attacks to take Donetsk Airport and some eastern regions.
www.aa.com.tr/en
