(VOVworld) – Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his concern about escalating tensions in eastern Ukraine and called for a ceasefire, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his concern about escalating tensions in eastern Ukraine and called for a ceasefire (photo: rferl.org)

On the same day, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, and head of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic, Igor Plotnitsky released a joint statement saying Donetsk and Lugansk would not carry out any more attacks and were willing to stop clashes on the current border. The two leaders said the separatists wanted to stop the bloodshed and were willing to halt the expansion of controlled areas along the demarcation line, which Kiev said had been violated. They also called for talks with Kiev to resolve the conflict.