Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Monday said it was impossible to win the conflict in the east by force alone, and called for the removal of Russian troops.
“It is impossible to win the conflict just by military means,” he said on a visit to the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, where sporadic fighting has flared between government forces and pro-Russian rebels despite a ceasefire. “The more we increase the pressure, the more Russian troops are on our territory,” said the President.