Ukraine’s president orders civilian corridor in east

Before the city was shaken by violence, it had about 130,000 residents. It was seized in April by heavily armed separatist supporters and has been shelled by mortars and artillery from the Ukrainian military. Numerous civilians have become casualties.

Poroshenko’s move to create a safe passage for civilians comes in the wake of growing concerns that the government’s campaign against the rebels has contributed to the rising civilian death toll in the east. Government officials say at least 200 people, including 59 servicemen, have been killed in attacks.

The United Nations’ refugee agency in May said Ukraine’s tensions — from Russia's annexation of Crimea and violence in the east — had resulted in about 10,000 displaced people. Before Tuesday’s announcement, no official government assistance had been announced for them.

Poroshenko’s statement gave no indication that he was planning to wind down the government’s operation against the rebels, who have continued to seize administrative buildings, police stations, border posts and garrisons across Ukraine’s east.

At his inauguration on Saturday, Poroshenko said that he would grant amnesty to any insurgents who laid down their arms and had not been involved in bloodshed and encouraged creation of a safe corridor for rebels to go to Russia. He ruled out negotiations with any “gangsters and killers” among them.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, who spoke to journalists briefly in Kiev on Tuesday, praised Poroshenko’s plan to resolve the conflict and promised that $48 million pledged by Vice President Joe Biden to Kiev on Sunday would be used “in eastern Ukraine in conjunction with the president’s peace plan.”

Human Rights Watch urged Ukraine on Monday to review its military operations in the east, saying that Kiev and the separatists “have obligations under international law to avoid harm to local residents.”

Also on Monday, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said a “mutual understanding” had been reached with Russia on a plan that would hopefully bring an end to the violence, but it did not give any specifics.

According to The Financial Times, Poroshenko began discussions with Moscow on Sunday, with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a Vienna-based human rights group, serving as mediator.

Despite the potential breakthrough, violence continued in the region overnight, as separatists launched mortar attacks against military checkpoints and other locations, according to Kiev. A government representative said the military fought off the attack and killed 40 separatists while sustaining only minor casualties, but that number has not been confirmed.

Al Jazeera and wire services