Reuters: Russia and Ukraine trade blame as ceasefire push breaks down
KYIV/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Ukraine and Russia blamed each other after a push to agree a new ceasefire in eastern Ukraine broke down late on Thursday as tensions over a Russian troop buildup near its southern neighbour persisted.
Ukraine said Moscow had rejected a series of its proposals, including prisoner swaps, reopening a checkpoint and expanding a joint communications centre.
Ukrainian troops have battled Russian-backed forces in its east since 2014.
"Unfortunately, all initiatives of the Ukrainian side were rejected by the Russian Federation under contrived pretexts," a statement by Ukraine's delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), which also includes Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), said.
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WNU Editor: These talks were doomed from the start. The current mood in the Kremlin is that the Ukraine government is pursuing a policy to eradicate the Russian language and culture in Ukraine .... Russia Ukraine: Putin compares Donbas war zone to genocide (BBC).