Kiev offers rebels to start ceasefire in E. Ukraine by Sept. 1

The Kiev side during a meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine crisis has offered pro-independence insurgents to start a complete ceasefire in eastern regions prior to Sept. 1, a senior Ukrainian official announced on Friday.

"We insist on the unconditional truce," Iryna Geraschenko, a Kiev representative in the humanitarian subgroup of the Contact Group, was quoted as saying by local media.

The halt to the hostilities is particularly important to ensure the security of children in the restive areas with the start the new school year, which begins in Ukraine on Sept.1, Geraschenko said.

According to her, solely in Lugansk region, some 126 educational establishments are located in the immediate vicinity from the frontline of fighting.

The representatives of insurgents have not commented on the ceasefire proposal yet.

Meanwhile, Darka Olifer, spokesperson for Ukraine's representative in the Contact Group Leonid Kuchma, wrote on her Facebook page that the group and the representatives of certain areas in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions have backed the idea of the ceasefire.

On Sept. 1, 2015, a truce was established in eastern Ukraine, which has led to a notable decrease in hostilities along the entire frontline.

In May this year, the tensions have escalated again and last week the Ukrainian army reported a record number of attacks on their forces since August 2015.

Overall, some 9,500 people, including at least 68 children have been killed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine that began in mid-April 2014. Endit