Ukraine in Arabic | 1200 prisoners of war were freed in Ukraine
KYIV/Ukraine in Arabic/ President Petro Poroshenko has announced that 1,200 prisoners of war have been released as a result of the cease-fire in Donbas.
Poroshenko told local media after arriving in the Eastern city of Mariupol.
"We have managed to free about 1,200 hostages following the announcement of the cease-fire," he said.
The president added that 33 soldiers who refused to surrender were freed on September 8, but he did not specify where the soldiers were freed.
Despite entering into the fourth day of the ceasefire, Poroshenko spoke aggressively, saying the rebels "will suffer a crushing defeat."
"I have ordered (the military) to secure the defense of Mariupol with howitzers, multiple rocket launchers, tanks, anti-tank weapons and air cover," Poroshenko told a small crowd of steel workers.
The ceasefire is part of a peace plan brokered in the Belorussian capital of Minsk intended to end a five-month conflict that has killed more than 3,000 people according to the United Nations' human rights envoy in the region.
In Donetsk, authorities declared a public holiday on Monday to mark the expulsion of "fascists" from region during World War II. The rebels characterize the forces under Kiev command as "fascist," given the presence of far-right groups in the government and among the Ukrainian army that has been shelling the east for months.