Ukraine Rebels Defy Truce Extension as EU Mulls Sanctions

Separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine continued to violate a truce extended today by the country’s government after the European Union gave Russia three days to stop the insurgency or face deeper sanctions.

EU leaders in Brussels demanded yesterday that the separatists, whom Ukraine and its allies say are backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government, release hostages and start talks to implement a peace plan drawn up by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko by June 30. While rebel leaders agreed to the extension yesterday, according to news service Interfax, the Defense Ministry in Kiev said they continued to fire on Ukrainian government positions overnight.