Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko believes that the ceasefire in Donbas, which should take effect starting midnight of December 24, will be observed on a permanent basis and vows that Kyiv is willing to adhere to this and other Minsk agreements.

"I welcome the agreement reached within the framework of the Trilateral Contact Group in reply to my initiative on declaring extra measures to establish a durable, comprehensive and open-ended ceasefire starting from 0:00 a.m. on December 24, 2016," the Ukrainian presidential press service quoted Poroshenko as saying in a commentary concerning the declaration of a ceasefire on the line of contact in Donbas.

"I expect that, due to these measures to be implemented in the run-up to the New Year's and Christmas holidays, the ceasefire in Donbas will become permanent," Poroshenko said.