Yatseniuk tells OSCE that Russia ignores peace agreements

Today Russia has no political will to honor the peace agreements it reached with Ukraine, Ukraine Premier Arseniy Yatseniuk has said.

"Today we can say that the Russian side has neither the political, nor any other [type of] will to honor the peace agreements," the premier said at a meeting with permanent representatives from the member states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Kyiv on Monday.

The premier noted that according to the Minsk agreements, Russia must withdraw its troops from Ukraine.

"The Russian Federation failed to do this. Secondly, Russia must stop supporting the Russian-led terrorists in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and this requirement hasn't been fulfilled either. And third - urgently taking control over the Ukrainian-Russian border. This hasn't been done either, because of the unwillingness of the Russian Federation."

"We're deeply concerned about how this agreement on the ceasefire is being implemented. Every day Ukrainian soldiers fall under shells Russia-controlled terrorists. We lose soldiers, we lose civilians. We urge Russia to do its best for the terrorists to stop shelling," Yatseniuk said.

The PM said he was skeptical over the implementation of the Minsk agreements aimed at settling the situation in eastern Ukraine.

"Perhaps, the preliminary agreements reached in Minsk will lead us towards peace. But for now I am quite skeptical about how they are being implemented," Yatseniuk said.

At the same time, Ukraine has been doing all it can to de-escalate the situation and find a peaceful solution, he said. Two unmanned aerial vehicles arrived in Ukraine early this morning for further use by OSCE monitors, said the prime minister.

"We are expecting that these drones will start work as soon as possible. This will provide additional possibilities to establish whether the ceasefire is being observed," the premier said.