Poroshenko, rebel chief say will respect ceasefire
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko confirmed he remained ready to abide by the deal.
KIEV (AFP) - Both Ukraine and the pro-Russian rebels pledged Saturday that they are going to respect a ceasefire due to come into force, after fierce fighting plunged the truce into doubt.
Under a peace plan signed between Kiev and the rebels in Minsk Thursday after marathon talks between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France, a ceasefire will start in war-torn east Ukraine at midnight (2200 GMT Saturday).
Ukraine s President Petro Poroshenko confirmed he remained ready to abide by the deal in a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, the French presidency said in a statement.
"The Ukrainian president assured that everything was ready for the start of the ceasefire," the presidency said in a statement.
Poroshenko s office released a statement after the phone call saying that the three leaders agreed that "all sides, including Russia, must fulfil the obligations they have taken on themselves, most of all the ceasefire."
On the other side, rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko -- seen by Kiev and the West as a Kremlin puppet -- signed an order commanding his troops to observe an "immediate and total ceasefire" at the agreed time.
The order did however give the rebel forces the right to respond to any perceived attacks "with all force and means".
A senior rebel figure for the smaller self-proclaimed Lugansk People s Republic also insisted that their troops would obey the truce and pull back heavy weapons.
Under the terms of the peace deal the two warring sides have two days from the start of the truce to begin pulling back heavy weapons from the frontline.
The last-ditch peace plan is seen as the best hope of ending the violence that has claimed at least 5,480 lives since April but scepticism remains high after the collapse of a similar previous deal.
Fresh fighting raged in the hours before the ceasefire was set to come into effect, with Ukraine and the United States accusing Russia of piling in weapons to fuel a rebel onslaught to grab territory.
