Photo:Entrance to Sloviansk city, Ukraine, pockmarked with bullets and shrapnel.

28 August 2017
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed today the commitment by the parties to implement a permanent ceasefire in eastern Ukraine on the occasion of the start of the new school year.

“He stresses the need to ensure that the ceasefire is sustainable and calls on all parties to fully abide by its terms especially in order to protect the civilians who suffer most from the ongoing hostilities,” said a statement form a UN spokesperson.

Through the statement, the Secretary-General also reiterated the support of the United Nations for the efforts of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Trilateral Contact Group and the Normandy Four to find a negotiated solution to the conflict.

“He urges all concerned to work towards that end,” the statement concluded.

In late February 2014, the situation in Ukraine transcended what was initially seen as an internal Ukrainian political crisis into violent clashes in parts of the country, later reaching full-scale conflict in the east. Despite a September 2014 ceasefire agreed in Minsk, the situation since deteriorated, with serious consequences for the country's unity, territorial integrity and stability.