DHAKA: Ukraine’s new president Petro Poroshenko said on Wednesday that he will soon order a unilateral ceasefire in the separatist east as part of a broader plan to end the 10-week insurgency.

‘The peace plan begins with my order for a unilateral ceasefire,’ the Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoted the Western-backed leader as saying, reports The Straits Times.

‘Immediately after that, we must receive support for the presidential peace plan from all sides involved (in the conflict). This should happen very shortly.’

BDST: 1434 HRS, JUNE 18, 2014