Ukraine, Russia agree on a ceasefire regime

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko agreed on a ceasefire regime in the eastern Ukraine, Mr. Poroshenko’s office said on Wednesday.

The agreement was the result of a telephone conversation in which both leaders agreed on steps to create peace, it said.

Mr. Putin’s office confirmed that both Presidents had spoken by phone, but it did not mention a ceasefire.

Mr. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said merely that both leaders’ views about how to resolve the conflict “significantly overlap,” Russian news agencies reported.

 Mr. Putin said last week that he cannot agree to any ceasefires because Russia has nothing to do with the conflict, which pits pro-Russian separatists against Ukrainian government forces.

 Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of aiding the separatists by sending weapons and troops, a charge the Kremlin has denied.