Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko convened his top generals Tuesday to discuss the latest failed peace talks with pro-Russian militias, aimed at stemming clashes that saw seven troops killed in another wave of attacks. Poroshenko has found himself trapped between Ukrainian nationalists who fear losing land to the eastern pro-Russian fighters, and Western pressure to resolve the 15-month crisis in the European Union's backyard.
The pro-EU leader sent his personal envoy to the Belarussian capital Minsk on Monday to discuss a new weapons withdrawal agreement with rebel and Moscow negotiators. But the European-mediated talks fell apart after more than six hours due to what one separatist said was Kiev's refusal to move back its forces from four strategic sites.
Insurgency commanders said no new senior-level talks were likely in the next three weeks. "We need to clearly determine a plan for strengthening our defences in case of the conflict's escalation," the presidency quoted Poroshenko as telling members of Ukraine's powerful National Security and Defence Council and top ministers.
Council chief Oleksandr Turchynov - a hawkish political veteran who served as acting head of state following the March 2014 ouster of Ukraine's Russian-backed president - reported the death of three more soldiers in overnight attacks. Kiev said four of its troops had been killed on Monday and the fighters reported one loss in the past two days. The Ukrainian government and its Western allies fear that the war - which has already claimed more than 6,800 lives - may turn into a "frozen conflict" in which low-level violence becomes a constant menace that leaves much of eastern Europe on permanent state of alert. Turchynov blamed the latest clashes on Russian soldiers whom the Kremlin has repeatedly denied sending into its south-western neighbour's industrial heartland.
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