Ukraine has reached a conditional cease-fire agreement with pro-Russian rebels on Friday, just hours after NATO approved plans to counter future aggression from Russia.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced the agreement in a statement on his official website Friday, saying he had ordered Ukraine's military forces to cease activity at 6:00 p.m. Friday.
"The highest value is human life," Poroshenko said in the statement. "We must do everything possible and impossible to terminate bloodshed and put an end to people's suffering."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Poroshenko told reporters in Belarus that the cease-fire was contingent upon the signing of a new peace plan to end the five-month war in eastern Ukraine. Alexander Zakharchenko, head of the Donetsk People's Republic, the main rebel group, issued a statement that his people would agree to a cease-fire if a peace deal were signed.
The Interfax-Ukraine news agency reports that the 14-clause peace protocol will include "all the aspects of monitoring, the exchange of prisoners, and other issues." Poroshenko told reporters that both sides have signed a preliminary protocol for a conditional cease-fire.
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purgeCartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Crossword: August 23, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
British warship repels 'largest Houthi attack to date' in the Red SeaSpeed read Western allies warn of military response to Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels if attacks on ships continue
-
Houthi rebels claim Red Sea ship attacksspeed read Iran-backed Yemeni group vows to escalate aggression towards Israel-linked vessels in revenge for Gaza war
-
Israel plans next phase of Gaza war as first hostages releasedSpeed read After four-day ceasefire 'we will not stop' until destruction of Hamas, says Israel
-
Mob storms Russian airport 'looking for Jews'Speed Read Plane from Israel surrounded by rioters chanting antisemitic slogans after landing in Russia's Dagestan region
-
Tuberville's military promotions block is upending lives, combat readiness, 3 military branch chiefs saySpeed Read
-
Ukraine's counteroffensive is making incremental gains. Does it matter in the broader war?Speed Read
-
US commissions first-ever Navy ship in a foreign portSpeed Read
-
British spy chief, Wagner video suggest Prigozhin is alive and freely 'floating around'Speed Read
