Ukraine Calls on UN Peacekeepers

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko urged the United Nations on Wednesday to send peacekeepers to eastern Ukraine to oversee a ceasefire between the government and pro-Russian separatists. Poroshenko called for the UN intervention at an emergency security meeting, where Ukraine’s national-security and defense officials approved his request. The move comes as Ukraine withdrew nearly 2,500 troops from the city of Debaltseve after fighting escalated between the two groups. The rebels denounced the request for peacekeepers, adding that it would “violate” the ceasefire brokered by France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine in Minsk last week.