Kiev, July 8 (IANS/EFE): Ukrainian authorities warned Tuesday they will not call a new unilateral ceasefire to try to put an end to the separatist conflict in the east of the country between pro-Russian militants and government troops.
Defence Minister Valeri Gueletéi said at a press conference that Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko had firmly decided not to hold ceasefire talks with the separatists and added that there would be no negotiations until the rebels lay down their weapons.
Late June, the warring sides agreed to a 10-day truce which did not prevent hostilities in the east.
Kiev's refusal to declare a new ceasefire came amid military gains on the Ukrainian side as pro-Russian separatist militias Saturday abandoned the cities of Slaviansk and Kramatorsk which had been their main bastions and retreated to Donetsk, a city of nearly one million inhabitants.
Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council Deputy Secretary Mikhail Koval said Sunday that the government's strategy was to besiege Donetsk and Lugansk and take other measures that "will force the separatists and criminals to disarm".
Meanwhile, the pro-Russian separatists Monday entered the city of Popasnaya, located near the administrative border of Ukraine's eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, without opposition due to the absence of government troops in the area, Russian news agency Novorrossía reported.
Popasnaya, with 20,000 inhabitants, is an important railway crossing point located 20 km northeast of Stakhanov, the headquarters of the separatists' backup forces.