Putin removes threat of military intervention after Ukraine ceasefire

Ruling allowing Russian troops to cross border cancelled but Ukrainian helicopter is shot down as fighting continues

Shaun Walker in Moscow and Alec Luhn in Slavyansk
The Guardian, Tuesday 24 June 2014

Vladimir Putin formally took Russian military intervention in eastern Ukraine off the table as separatist leaders agreed to a ceasefire, proposed by Kiev, in the region.

But both the government and the rebels accused each other of continuing to open fire after the ceasefire was agreed Monday evening, and the downing of a Ukrainian helicopter on Tuesday evening, killing nine, raised further questions about the possibility of ending the bloodshed quickly.

The fighting has left hundreds dead over the past two months and the region now enters a difficult and uneasy period of negotiations aimed at stopping the cycle of violence.

Putin on Tuesday asked the upper house of the Russian parliament to revoke its ruling in March saying Russia could use troops on Ukrainian territory.

(More here.)