Ukraine president unveils peace plan

Details have emerged of a 14-point peace plan to be unveiled by Ukraine's President Poroshenko later.

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The document, which is aimed at ending fighting in eastern Ukraine, appeared in Ukrainian media overnight.
It comes after Mr Poroshenko held his second phone conversation this week with Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

The plan promises to decentralise power and calls for immediate disarmament in eastern Ukraine where government forces are battling pro-Russia separatists.

It also apparently proposes the creation of a 10km (6 miles) buffer zone on the Ukrainian-Russian border, and early local and parliamentary elections.

Mr Poroshenko has already announced he intends to introduce a unilateral ceasefire by government forces ahead of the peace plan being implemented.

Earlier this week, he said a "brief" truce - expected within days - would allow militants in Donetsk and the neighbouring Luhansk region to lay down their arms.

Rebels rejected the call to surrender their weapons.

Heavy fighting is continuing between troops and pro-Russian rebels in the Donetsk region.

Twelve soldiers were killed and 25 were injured in violence near the town of Krasny Liman on Thursday evening, Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoted defence officials as saying.

Government forces said about 300 separatists have been killed in the fighting in the area, but this figure has not been independently confirmed.

Meanwhile Nato says Russia has moved troops back to the Ukrainian border.

In their telephone conversation on Thursday night, the Ukrainian and Russian presidents discussed Mr Poroshenko's peace plan.

Mr Putin expressed hope that priority attention would be given to "resolving key problems that have caused strong protests by the people living in" eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The unrest comes amid tension between Russia and Ukraine over the removal of pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych and Russia's annexation of Crimea.

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