Russia-Ukraine crisis: Ukrainian Prez Zelenskyy calls for immediate ceasefire in Donbass

A day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asserted that his country would not respond to provocations in the eastern Donbass region, on Saturday, he reiterated his stand and called for an "immediate" ceasefire in the conflict region. Notably, the statement from the Ukrainian President came after he and French President Emmanuel Macron held a telephonic conversation on Sunday, February 20.

As per the tweet of Zelenskyy, both the leaders held extensive talks on the current situation including, provocative shelling by the Russian troops in the Donbas region.

Check Zelenskyy's tweet here:

'We stand for intensifying the peace process': President Zelenskyy

Zelenskyy, who called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to meet him and seek a resolution to avert the crisis, on February 20, took to Twitter and wrote, "Continuing yesterday's conversation, informed @EmmanuelMacron about the current security situation and new provocative shelling. We stand for intensifying the peace process. We support the immediate convening of the TCG and the immediate introduction of a regime of silence."

Earlier on Saturday, he took to Instagram and said Kyiv wants to control the situation through the diplomatic channel. "We do not respond to provocations and rely solely on diplomacy to establish peace," the Ukrainian President wrote on Instagram.

While speaking at the Munich Security Conference that was also attended by several western leaders including US Vice President Kamala Harris, Zelenskyy called Putin to meet him and seek a resolution to avert the crisis.

"I don’t know what the president of the Russian Federation wants, so I am proposing a meeting. Russia can pick the location for the talks," said Zelenskyy, adding, "Ukraine will continue to follow only the diplomatic path for the sake of a peaceful settlement."

Notably, on Saturday, separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine ordered a full military mobilisation despite a frequent warning from the Western leaders of invoking stringent sanctions-- both politically and economically.

NATO’s liaison office in Kyiv direct employees to move to Brussels

Amid fear of invasion, Germany and Austria told their citizens to leave Ukraine while German air carrier Lufthansa cancelled flights to the capital, Kyiv. Besides, NATO’s liaison office in Kyiv directed its employees to move to Brussels. According to a report by news agency AP, on Saturday, some top Ukrainian military officials who were on a tour to the border areas faced a shelling attack. Luckily, all the officials were able to flee to a bomb shelter before hustling from the area.

It is pertinent to mention here that the battle between Ukraine's government and the breakaway Donetsk and, Lugansk Republics is not new. It has been going on since 2014. In a bid to control the violence in the Donbass region, the Minsk agreement was signed in February 2015. The deal came after tough negotiations among leaders of France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine — the Normandy group. However, the agreement did not exhibit the desired result, and, it is visible only in the papers, resulting in frequent sporadic clashes.

(Image: AP)