[JURIST] Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko [official website] on Sunday spoke to Germany’s Bild newspaper [official website, in German], calling for further sanctions against Russia after they allegedly failed to honor a ceasefire. An agreement [BBC backgrounder] was signed in Minsk in September calling for the withdrawal of all heavy weaponry from the front lines. Though the attacks from both sides have become less frequent since the ceasefire established in late February, both sides have accused each other of violating the agreement. Poroshenko elaborated [Reuters report] that the Ukraine has allegedly fulfilled all its obligations in the ceasefire but the Russians have violated their agreement a total of 1,100 times. Poroshenko’s comments to the German newspaper are to be published on Monday. Next Thursday a summit will be held in Brussels where EU member countries will discuss the sanctions imposed on Russia’s financial, defense and energy sectors. Some EU members have already expressed their intent [Reuters report] not ease any sanctions until Russia fully complies with the Minsk agreement.

Russia’s ongoing conflict [BBC timeline] with Ukraine [JURIST news archive] has reinvigorated fears of Cold War Era politics and increased tensions between Russia and the West. In late February 2015 US Secretary of State John Kerry [official website] announced [JURIST report] that Washington is considering “additional sanctions” against Russia in light of the most recent events in Ukraine. Also in late February 2015 a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a statement [JURIST report] revealed that Ban had spoken with Ukraine Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin regarding the ceasefire in Ukraine. Ban expressed concern over the situation and informed Klimkin that the UN would continue to follow the Security Council’s guidance. Earlier in February 2015 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called for [JURIST report] both sides of the Ukraine conflict to halt “the dangerous escalation in the fighting” in response to the human rights “situation in the east of the country.” In January 2015 the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released a statement [JURIST report] saying that at least 5,086 people have been killed since the conflict in Ukraine began in April 2014, but expressed concerns that the real figure may be much higher.