of the most important things right now if we start talks about the status of the regions of southeastern ukraine he also mentioned that he spoke with ukraine's president poroshenko he seems to be . understandable. and according to which and they do seem to have agreed on some sort of a process towards a peace plan in southeastern ukraine now also russian president mentioned that it's time to end the fighting for everybody involved in the conflict in southeastern ukraine winter is indeed coming and people should lay down their arms and focus on rebuilding destroyed the infrastructure of the region and use this as an opportunity to finally start the peace talks and what russian president called a great tragedy occurring in southeastern ukraine ok thanks. thank you. well and there has been a development in the story of missing russian photo journalist under a stone in a ukrainian soldier whose picture he took in eastern ukraine has written a letter to the reporter's mother this is one of the photos of the fighting kiev took it to be of a dead soldier and accuse stand in promoting terrorism by publi

we're getting word from the twitter account of the pro-russian rebels in southeastern ukraine that they have signed a cease-fire agreement in the city of minsk, belarus. we have yet to hear from government officials here in kiev. all of this taking place are a roughly two-hour meeting in the city of minsk, where all the parties involved in this conflict both directly and indirectly met today and after the meeting, it was announced that a cease-fire has been established. now we're still waiting for an official announcement to understand the terms and the conditions of this agreement, but coming into this meeting the speculations, the conditions of this agreement included a halt to all military operations in southeastern ukraine, the pulling out of all troops, exchanging of the soldiers that have been captured on both sides, the establishments of humanitarian corridors so people can get out of the region to get help and humanitarian aid, could come in and the positioning of international monitors to make sure that these conditions were met. coming into today, some western leaders, some na

the conditions include the end of military operations in southeastern ukraine, the pulling out of troops, establishment of a humanitarian corridor where refugees and victims can get out of the conflict zone and humanitarian goods can come in and international monitors in place to make sure the conditions would be met. yesterday, a positive statement by president poroshenko saying he's hopeful in the framework, the cease-fire could be put in place tomorrow when all sides of the conflict would meet. however, late yesterday, the prime minister seemingly pouring cold water on the plan saying this is a russian ploy to avoid sanctions and buy more time for rebels in southeastern ukraine. john, all sorts of mixed messages. there seems to be an opportunity for a breakthrough. all eyes on him to see what happens. >> there's so many theatrics from president putin saying this is my seven-point plan. he wants to make a public display of this, most likely in the face of what's going on with wales in the nato summit. >> reporter: john, i think it's important to look at both narratives in this conflict

many others, rosemary, are encircled in southeastern ukraine. >> all right. watching what's happening on the ground there. reporting live from kiev, many thanks to you. >>> still to come on cnn, a blow delivered to hong kong's pro-democracy movement. demonstrators vent their displeasure over changes to the election process. we'll explain. [ male announcer ] identity theft... it's one of the fastest growing crimes in america. there's a new victim of identity theft every three seconds. makes you wonder -- "am i next?" one weak password could be all it takes -- or trusting someone you shouldn't. over 70 million records with personal information were compromised in recent security breaches. you think checking your credit cards or credit report protects you? of course, lifelock can do that for you. but lifelock also helps protect you from more serious fraud, like attempts to get a mortgage in your name. take over your bank accounts, or even drain your investment accounts. lifelock offers the most comprehensive identity theft protection available. alerting you to t

which is some sort of autonomy for the ethnic russian regions in southeastern ukraine, under what wouldederalized ukraine. it looks to be potentially some sort of potential for compromise. but there wasn't any kind of breakthrough yesterday. the talks picked back up later this week. we'll see what happens there, john. >> is kiev likely to accept that kind of compromise deal that essentially it's kind of just changing the names here? they would be part of ukraine but they would be fairly autonomous and russia would still have all the influence there. merely a change of tone coming from those republics. is this the kind of deal leaders in kiev there are likely to accept? >> at this point, john, there's no indication that's a deal they're going to accept. it could change in days to come. but for now, they want to transition to what would be a centralized government. in the meantime, on the battlefield, things escalating as well and all sorts of indications that the momentum is shifting towards the rebels. ukrainian forces suffering heavy losses. another loss came yesterday, a critical airp

it goes into effect this morning, among the conditions are an end to military operations in southeastern ukraine. the pulling out of troops, the establishment of humanitarian corridor in the region. whoever wanlts to get out can leave and humanitarian aid can get in and positioning of international monitors to make sure the conditions are met. mr. poroshenko said as soon as it is signed at 2:00 p.m., he will call off the ukrainian forces. the rebels say if they observe they have heeded this cease-fire, they will also put an end to the fighting. all eyes on 2:00 p.m. local time. that's about three hours. we will see if, indeed, this agreement is signed, then wait to see the impact on the battlefield, if, indeed, it ends the fighting. >> a lot of ifs. perhaps the biggest reason for home we have had in some time. reza sayah in kiev, thank you so much. >>> a u.s. citizen from massachusetts who is linked to isis. 32-year-old is already want eedy the fbi and he joined isis using the computer skills he honed in boston to help their media campaigns. >> obviously, we take very seriously the threat of ame

while to inflict heavy artillery fire residential areas in southeastern ukraine the west stays silent but otherwise russian president has indicated that there could be some progress made when it comes to talks with president poroshenko who. is a man who could be talked with and of course he also mentioned that. you also mentioned that more consultations about the nature and the state and the status of the southeastern region of ukraine should be held before any concrete steps of course could be made towards resolving the crisis in southeastern ukraine. arena thank you very much you're in a political reporting for r.t. international. there's been a development in the story of missing russian photojournalist andre stan in ukrainian soldier whose picture he took in eastern ukraine has written a letter to the reporters mother this image from the care of the accused him of assisting terrorism by taking a photo of a dead soldier but in fact the fighter is alive as shown by the following picture taken just a few minutes later in his letter the soldier writes that he's sorry for what's happen

. >> there's mounting evidence in southeastern ukraine that the momentum in this conflict is rapidly shifting in favor of the pro russian rebels. today, they took over a critical air field in southeastern ukraine, right after ukrainian forces just stopped fighting and retreated. on sunday, a ukrainian patrol boat came under fire and was sunk. all of these significant blows to ukrainian forces who appear to be in deep trouble. in southeastern ukraine, fresh remnants of a battle where pro russian rebels routed ukrainian forces to take back full control of a town. the retreat was swift. leaving behind the wreckage of war and another town in shambles. it's the latest triumph in a counteroffensive. ukrainian soldiers encircled or on the run. two weeks ago, it was ukrainian forces dominating the fight, pushing east, taking rebel stronghol strongholds. kiev said the onslaught is backed by russian troops and weaponry. the next step could be mariuopol, a port city. >> russia has come, invaded with thousands of troops with missiles and tanks. this is no longer a question of separatists. this i

tests which do show that the remains found in southeastern ukraine do belong to andris day in and here's the official statement from the head of the information agency on this. quote gundry's fate and demanded that international organizations freed him where thankful to everyone in russia and their broad for your activities and for your support. unfortunately when we were trying to do everything possible and even impossible for his freedom and really was already no longer with us. not throughout this entire month various countries on various information was coming from ukrainian officials who at one point were claiming that andre was aiding and abetting and to kiev fighters in southeastern ukraine whom he have calls terrorists then they went on to withdraw that statement various all first from intermediaries were coming interest is toward a news agency offering to exchange andrzej for ukrainian soldiers those were not meant obviously so finally after not getting any information not even a clue from kiev about it under a speech russia was forced to conduct its own investigation in andries

vladimir putin to delay the sanctions and buy some more time for the pro-russian rebels in southeastern ukraine. but as you mentioned earlier, ukrainian president petro poroshenko says he supports this plan, and pro-russian rebel leaders, they say they support this plan as well. if indeed this plan goes into effect today, among the conditions are an end to all military operations in southeastern ukraine, the pulling out of all troops, the banning of all military flights over the conflict zone, and establishment of a humanitarian zone where refugees, victims can get out of the area and humanitarian aid could get in. and the positioning of international monitors, who would make sure that all sides abide by these conditions. yesterday mr. petro poroshenko says he expects this deal to be signed at 2:00 p.m. local time. once that happens he says he will immediately call for an end to military operations by ukrainian forces and then rebel leaders say if they observe that ukrainian troops have heeded the cease-fire an hour later at 3:00 p.m. they will stop fighting as well, natalie. so all eyes on 2:0

>> when you travel around rebel-held southeastern ukraine over and over again, you hear people say theykraine anymore. and that brings into focus what could be the next obstacle in this conflict -- how do you resolve this crisis when many here still demand a separate state? ukrainian president has rejected calls by the east for a separate state. instead he promises a bill that would give the rebel-held region special status and greater autonomy. how much autonomy is unclear. for many here, the author is too little too late. pro russian ukrainians say kiev crossed the line when ukrainian forces targeted civilian areas without any apparent regard for civilian lives. this is what people here are furious about. shelling that hit just steps away from residential buildings. people here say the ukrainian army did this. this one missed. others did not. ? shakhtar buildings were destroyed. many were killed. it's not clear how many. the government in kiev denies shelling residential neighborhoods. rebel fighters are -- >> oops. we were just telling you just a short time ago about the unreal flood

russians and separatists seemed to ease off their position and demand for an independent state in southeastern ukraineand essentially suggesting they would be okay with autonomy, some sort of self-determination, and in return, they would respect the sovereignty of ukraine. that position seems to match what moscow wants, what russian president vladimir putin wants. remember, he wants the southeastern ukraine, the ethnic russian regions to have some sort of autonomy under what would be a federalized state. so if that's the rebels' position, that would seem to create some sort of opening, and that would seem to put the ball back in the court of kiev. and we're waiting to see what their response is going to be, but it appears that there could be an opening for some sort of negotiated solution, although there's no indication we're close to that yet, john. >> and at the same time, renewed fighting in the east. it seems the rebels have been making significant gains. what's the latest there? >> yeah, it's been pretty much a disastrous week for ukrainian force rs. they have suffered serious losses, hundreds of

today, russia's prime minister denial ofoscow's direct involvement in the rebel push in southeastern ukraine. he said talks on the ukraine crisis taking place today were primarily about an unconditional cease-fire. concern nowional focusing on the key port city. beingefenses are reinforced because it is a relatively short distance from the territory seized by the separatists in recent days. residents took to the streets yesterday to protest and to pray for peace. president used a gathering of military cadets. he said it could radically change the situation in the conflict. the u.s. and europe have also charged russia with sending its own troops to intervene in ukraine. the european security organization said today it was hard to confirm the presence of regular russian forces within ukrainian territory. that said, australia has stepped up its sanctions against russia. >> i want to make it absolutely clear that the bullying of small nations by big ones and assertions that might is right should have no place in our world. >> in the latest of elements on the ground, ukrainian officials say their

12 points are, but we do know among the conditions are obviously an end to the fighting in southeastern ukraine, the pulling out of heavy weapons, the exchanging of soldiers who have been captured during the conflict. and that could happen as early as today, the establishment of the humanitarian corridor where people can leave the area, and humanitarian aid can come in. that can happen today as well and the positioning of international monitors to make sure all sides are meeting these conditions. so now we watch closely the conflict zone to see if these two sides continue to heed this cease-fire agreement, but at this point, george, it looks like there's finally a pause to a conflict that led to the killing of more than 2500 people, injury of more than 10,000 people, 1 million people displaced. so a much-needed pause in this conflict seems to be here, george. >> so the cease-fire seems to be holding at this point. reza, we appreciate your reporting. >>> now to isis and kurdish troops in iraq. cnn was the only news media organization on the front lines. and our anna coren followed along with per

if it goes into effect, among the conditions are an end to all military operations in southeastern ukraine, the pulling out of troops, a banning of military flights over the conflict zone, the establishing of a humanitarian zone there, where anyone who wants to get out can do so, and humanitarian aid could get in, and the positioning of international monitors, who would make sure these conditions are met. yesterday, ukrainian president poroshenko said if indeed this agreement is signed at 2:00 p.m., he will call an immediate halt to the military operations and rebel leaders say if they see the ukrainian forces have heeded this agreement, an hour later, at 3:00 p.m., they will stop fighting, max. so all eyes on minsk, belarus. we wait to see what happens at 2:00 p.m., if this agreement is signed, and then we wait to see the impact on the battlefield, if indeed the fighting after a very long time, finally ends. >> reza, thank you very much. >>> still to come, joan rivers is being remembered as a pioneer, who paved the way for women. >> 30 years old, you're not married, you're an old maid. a

table where pro-russian rebels eased off their position and demand for an independent state in southeastern ukraineay, all sides of the conflict met. the pro-russians said they would be satisfied for a guarantee of autonomy. in return, they would accept a sovereign and united ukraine. seemingly, an opportunity for a negotiated deal or compromise. no breakthrough, no response from kiev in western capitals. >> talks show little success over the last several months. thanks so much. >>> police in ferguson, missouri started wearing body cameras. they were donated by two security companies after weeks of protests following the shooting of michael brown by officer darren wilson. websites to raise money for wilson were shut down over the weekend. they were on the gofundme.com website. organizers have not given a reason for closing those donations. monday, a group calling for wilson's dismissal blocked traffic briefly. it took place despite a request by brown's father to cancel the demonstration. >>> the texas national guard does he having up security at the u.s./mexico border. now they are say tlg's not a

the conflict should stop military offensive on both sides of must withdraw troops from southeastern parts of ukraine in militia and must stop the offensive to therefore stop the blot schatz now the troops should pull back to eliminate the cities now then the president believes that there should be a fool an objective international a cease fire mon and touring in those areas there should be no abrogation used against civilians and there should be a special system installed to arrange the exchange of detainees with without exception now the last two points of the plan include special humanitarian corridor to be opened for the refugees the war in torn areas and the red construction of these areas that should be organized as well now this is really briefly of the plan that the russian president is suggesting the two sides could use to somehow re store peace in the country not being a part of this conflict russia says that it is however ready to provide any assistance possible to somehow stab the allies. the situation now president putin also added that he and the ukrainian leader petro poroshenko have c

>> yes. >> when you travel around rebel-held southeastern ukraine, over and over again, you hear people say they don't want to be part of ukraine anymore. and that brings into focus what could be the next obstacle in this conflict. how do you resolve this crisis when many here still demand a separate state? ukrainian president petro poroshenko rejected calls by the east pore a separate state. instead he promises a bill that would give the rebel-held region special status and greater autonomy. how much autonomy is unclear. for many here, the offer is too little too late. pro-russian ukrainians say kiev crossed the line when ukrainian forces targeted civilian areas without any apparent regard for civilian lives. this is what people here are furious about, shelling that hit just steps away from residential buildings. people here say the ukrainian did this. this one missed. others did not. in shock tarsk, entire buildings were destroyed. civilians were killed, many injured and displaceded. it's not clear how many. the government in kiev denies shelling residential neighborhoods. rebel fight

the conflict should stop military operation on both sides should withdraw troops from southeastern parts of ukraine and militias should do the same to their for stop the bloodshed at the troops should pull back to rule out any shelling of cities that are no fool in international ceasefire monny touring system should be in place in those areas there should be no out and used against civilians and there are also should be some kind of a system arranged to provide the exchange detainees and that should happen with no exception now the last two points of the plan include a humanitarian corridor or there should be open for the refugees of those areas and of the reconstruction of the a war torn region show for ukraine to happen in the near future now this is briefly of the plan that the russian president is suggesting the two science could use to peace and ukraine now not being a part of this conflict russia however says that it is ready to provide any assistance possible to staff realized the situation russian president vladimir putin also says that the leader. have common views on how to ensure a cease

, for president obama, to do something, for what many describe as a russian invasion on to southeastern ukraineu have the cease-fire that was signed by both sides of this conflict, about two hours and 40 minutes ago. it went into effect at 6:00 p.m. local time, about 40 minutes ago, and so far, it seems to be holding. we're working to confirm the conditions, the framework, with this agreement, but it obviously includes an end to all military operations in southeastern ukraine, the pulling out of troops, the establishment of a humanitarian corridor, the exchanging of soldiers captured on both sides and the positioning of international monitors who would make sure that all these conditions will be met. this is a plan that received a lot of skepticism and criticism from western capitals, members of congress. many called it a ploy by russia, by vladimir putin to perhaps avoid more sanctions and build more time. even so, the cease-fire has been established. >> it's been established. we'll see if it holds. thanks very much. we'll get back to you. i want to bring in cristina amanpour right now. you kn

now charging that the russian federation is mounting a defacto invasion of southeastern ukraine the obamaistration has only committed to provide non-lethal assistance to the ukrainian military. republican critics of the administration like arizona senator john mccain have long urged the white house to sends arms directly to kiev. on sunday the democratic chair of the senate foreign relations committee agreed, calling on president obama to provide ukraine, with defensive weaponry. >> i think putin has sized up the west. the most difficult sanctions against russia and the arms necessary for the ukrainians to be able to defend themselves is not coming from the west and we have to prove him wrong. >> reporter: menendez said that also would mean tougher sanctions on russia oil and gas sectors, heather. heather: that was scary. putin made comments recently that suggested to some he is willing to escalate the situation in south eastern ukraine into nuclear conflict. what about that? >> reporter: recent days the russian president speak of the new russia. since putin throughout this crisis inheren

ukrainian officials say forces continue to come under really heavy fire from pro-russian rebels in southeastern ukraine and it appeared the separatists were surrounding a key city between russia and crimea. this comes hours before ukraine/russia, reshl and other officials planned to hold a conference. president obama plans a conference and met with ukraine's president and other top european leaders in a show of support for kiev in its conflict with moscow. the rise of islamic state militants a major topic. in an interview with chris jansing, the white house signaled there may be a big change to deter isis in syria. >> can you do it in syria without boots on the ground? >> we're looking at what's going to be necessary. we've said clearly, you need a strategy on both sides of this border. this is an organization that operates without respect for borders. >> you're not ruling it out. what we're already doing is providing a military assistance to syrian opposition, the strongest kount weight on the ground to isis. we'll look at what additional options are necessary going forward. >> update on kansas state

and they are talking about statehood for southeastern ukraine, and a leading italian newspaper reportedhat putin said he could take kiev in two weeks if he wanted to. however, a kremlin official said the comment was taken out of the context. >>> the fbi and apple are investigating the release of nude photos reportedly of some of the biggest celebrities. already the rep for jennifer lawrence said they will prosecute, and kate upton has also vowed legal action. and there are more, ariana grande and rihanna, and others that have spoken out to deny the photos are of them. how did the hackers obtain these photos? there was a tip weeks ago of a reader offering to show the photo s. and individual apple icloud accounts were hacked. what's not clear, if they were hacked by a single person or a larger group. or whether it came from a trading ring. this brings us to the twitter question for you this morning, does this news make you concerned about your own online privacy? tweet your answers answers, #waytooearly. >>> changing gears now, trouble to talk about for atlantic city. rebel, a $2.4 billio

russian president vladimir putin is calling for meaningful talks on statehood in southeastern ukraine. although, his spokesperson said he meant discussions on more autonomy and wasn't endorsing independence. the separatists call the pockets of territory they control new russia. they rose up in april, and they've been holding on in the face of an offensive by ukrainian forces. putin has long denied he sent in soldiers and military equipment to help them, but evidence of his involvement is mounting. ukrainian commanders handed over a group of russian paratroopers they captured inside their border in exchange for some of their own soldiers. european union leaders say it's clear russian forces are active in ukraine. they're preparing a fresh pack only of economic sanctions as a result. >> we have to act quickly given the evolution on the ground and the tragic loss of life. >> reporter: ukrainian president petro poroshenko says the conflict is spiraling out of control. >> i think that we are very close to the point of no return. point of no return is full-scale war. >> reporter: for now, p

vladimir putin called on leaders in kiev to engage in talks on what he called statehood in southeastern ukraine. the delegates have been trying to reach a cease-fire after months of fighting between the separatists and government forces. the separatists have refused calls for them to lay down their weapons. the delegates are scheduled to meet again on friday. >>> japan's prime minister has had the same group of people by his side since he took office two years ago. now shinzo abe is set to make some changes. he's getting ready to reshuffle his cabinet and shake up the leadership of the governing party. abe's expected to name toshihiro niki chairman of the liberal democratic party's decision-making party. he leads the budget committee of the lower house of the diet and has served in the cabinet before. he has ties with many members of the ldp's coalition partner new komeito. abe's expected to select anada to another key party post, chair of the ldp's policy research council. abe has been impressed by how she's worked to deregulate the farming and medical sectors. >> translator: i want to advance

shattered after a genetic test has proven conclusively that the remains that have been found in southeastern ukraine indeed do belong to andre stern and he was a photo journalist working for ria novosti which is part of the prestigious award a news corp the head of which has made this statement on the death of andre we've followed gundry's fate and demanded that international organizations freed him where thankful to everyone in russia and their broad for your activities and for your support. unfortunately when we were trying to do everything possible and even impossible for his freedom and already no longer with us now those words of brad is a different and by a massive show of support that was that began right here i dare say a subordinate headquarters where i'm standing was spread all over the country even all over the world not just journalists but people in other countries including organizations such for protection of journalists worldwide have issued their support they had been calling on andries release because it was assumed that andre was detained by ukrainian forces as they have previousl

president putin's comments about statehood for parts of southeastern ukraine came as they had included the amphibious event. and speaking to the channel 1tv network. putin said the latest round of talks between the government in kiev and prorussian separatist and held in minesque should focus on statehood in southeast ukraine. a former commandant said president putten's chief objective is to control terry nichols -- territory. >> the piece of ground he wants to control is ukraine because he considers that to be the western highway in the heartland of russia. and if he creates disharmony and political disunitty or occupy territory in his mind that works to the ends of this new soviet empire. >> and keef cove charging that 1500 trush wran troops are active in ukraine. the pro rushle rebels are saying ahead of piece talks.-- peace t >> the ukrainian army must leave positions where they harm the population. and i hope that the negotiations scheduled for today will be dedicated for a unconditional ceasefire. >> robert men endez called on the obama administration to send defensive weapons to

this russian denial comes as vladimir putin calls for statehood talks for southeastern ukraine.a ukrainian patrol boat was attacked sunday off the coast of mariupol. >>> a federal judge is temporarily blocked enforcement of a strict new abortion law in louisiana. a lawsuit challenges the new requirement that abortion clinic doctors have admitting privileges at local hospitals. the suit claims doctors did not have enough time to arrange admitting privileges before the law goes into effect today. the judge's ruling prevents authorities from penalizing doctors while the case is being heard. >>> the national corvette museum announces it will fill in that tinning hole. remember this? devouring eight beautiful cars in february of this year. the kentucky museum is working with chevrolet to restore three of the damaged cars. however, the other five were damaged beyond repair when they fell into that sing hole. they will stay on display. the sinkhole was a mixed blessing, it actually brought a 70% boost in in visitors. >> unreported benefits of sinkholes. they get a bad rap. >> we saw th

we are also hear from the pro-russian rebels fighting in southeastern ukraine. they are essentially saying that we're doubting that a cease-fire can take place until ukrainian forces leave the region. that apparently hasn't happened yet, but it looks like we're on the verge of a breakthrough, a remarkable development because up until this morning these two sides, leaders in moscow and ukraine were hurling back and forth heated accusations an veiled insults. >> reza sayah on ground for us in ukraine. let's continue part of this discussion because this was also a big topic in the press conference. neither the estonian president for president obama seemed to put a lot of weight in the headline of a cease-fire. i mean, the president himself says, well, we haven't seen much -- we haven't seen this bear fruit in the past, any conversation of a cease-fire. what do you think this means, rita cosby. >> well, it seems quite transparent that this is an attempt by moscow to take some of the heat off of the nato discussions. the timing is -- just as president obama arrives i

didn't do much about it, and here he is doing the second thing in terms of seizing eastern and southeastern ukraine he's trying to achieve with the ukraine government, he does not want them to turn to the west as they're indicating they want to do to even join nato. he wants them to stay aligned with them, and he's using military force to do it. bill: quickly, president obama speaks in one hour, we'll carry that live here on fox news. the sanctions may work, but it may take some time for them to be more effective. but physically, if nato and the u.s. do not want to stop putin, it's over, right? >> well, i think putin's ultimate strategy will be to challenge nato in the baltics or in poland using russia minorities as an excuse to go in there. because i think he believes that -- at least he's not confident they would respond. and all of our actions to date indicate that maybe we would not respond. the graphic reaction force which i think is going to be proposed by nato, that is not going to prevent putin. that is what everything we've done to date, it's reactionary. we had a successful nato post-worl

ukrainian troops continued on sunday as ukrainian patrol boat was shot and sunk off the coast of southeastern ukraine in the sea. amateur video shot on sunday shows the boat off in the distance seemingly on fire, going up in flames and sinking. officials here in kiev say they have not confirmed who shot this boat but i think many people here in kiev are certainly blaming the pro-russian rebels. eight seamen were rescued when other patrol boats came to the scene. two seamen still missing. that's the fight at sea. the battlefield on land, more bad news for ukrainian forces. officials in kiev saying the airfields are under attack by russian tanks. moscow denies they have russian tanks on ukrainian territory. south of that location, more ukrainian soldiers retreating. according to the officials, 68 other soldiers retreating in the overnight hours as the rebels continue to take more land. the next place they could be targeting is the critical port city of mariopal. rebels are poised for an attack. they haven't done so yet. to the west, you have ukrainian troops bolstering their defense lines. behind that,

meaningful talks relating to the issues of the society's political organization and statehood in southeastern ukraine should begin immediately in order to protect legitimate interests of people living there. >> and in an attempt to clarify the president's comments, the kremlin later said eastern ukraine should remain part of the country. and he also called the tensions in the region a domestic ukrainan conflict. >>> hatley gamble was there earlier this week and has more. >> we know troops are on the ground there according to angela merkel, but she didn't want to define, she didn't know the definition of invasion under international law. she didn't want to go there. the and to be fair to the eu leaders, neither did president obama this week. he's got an lot of flak for that as well. so the senate coming out, bob menendez, trying to get on his back saying we need to arm the rebels, why are you trying to arm them? these are the bigger questions and unfortunately the eu is going to be hesitant to do much more than in a week's time possibly ratchet up sanctions and close loophole that is are already there

then we waited to hear from the pro-russian rebels in southeastern ukraine. en't heard from them yet, but again, the russian agency interfax reporting that the pro-russian rebels have also agreed to a cease-fire in southern ukraine. again, we don't know all the details of this meeting but what's surprising, john, up until this report, these two leaders with hurling accusations and veiled insults, but indications now that the two sides have agreed to a cease-fire. now, we watch the battlefield to see how this impacts the battlefield. and if indeed the fighting stops in southeastern ukraine. >> now, the rhetoric had been heating up, reza, as you pointed out. so if the cease-fire does hold it would be dramatic events on the ground. reza, i should tell you we're maybe minutes or so away from hearing from president obama delivering a news conference in estonia. you're looking at live pictures there. this is the president's first chance to address the beheading of steven sotloff and also the president's first chance to address the apparent cease-fire in ukraine. riz

al jazeera am peter sharp has more from southeastern ukraine. >> 30 kilometers to the west is russia. this is russia's second huge humanitarian convey, destination donetsk. the drivers of this military base tell us the drivers have yet to be cleared by the international red cross but that didn't stop the first convoy pushing across the frontier and won't stop this either. kiev says it's not going to accept this convoy unless it goes through the red cross checks but what's clear is this convoy will roll and i think soon whether kiev likes it or not. the eu warned the kremlin on the weekend it would impose tough new sanctions within seven days unless russia curbed its issues with ukraine. >> there won't be a military solution in this situation. this is the view of the other eu member countries but we also cannot receive russia's behavior either and that's why i believe it is necessary to prepare such sanctions. >> reporter: and that brought a more conciliatory note from russia. >> there will be no military intervention, we stand for a peaceful resolution to this difficult crisis this tr

we do know among the conditions are obviously an end to the military operations in southeastern ukraine, the pulling out f all heavy weapons, the exchange of soldiers who had been captured by both sides. that could happen as early as today. the establishment of a humanitarian corridor in the conflict zone and a positioning of international monitors who will make sure both sides meet these conditions. in the coming hours we'll look at the conflict zones and be sure that these two sides are heeding the cease-fire. but at this point there's finally a much needed pause to the conflict that cost more than 2500 lives. >> so peace for the moment. raja say ya joining us in kiev. now matthew chance in moscow. matthew, many western countries with skeptical about the cease-fire. what are you hearing from the russian leaders there? >> reporter: well they welcomed it. but you're right to point out that the western leaders are skeptical about whether it would hold. at the moment it is as we've been hearing. but more importantly where it leaves the long term makeup of ukraine. as we understand it the

. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> sporadic gunfire in southeastern ukraine.e fragile truce. we take you live to mariupol. >>> plus -- in india, floods are washing away bridges and killing dozens of people. find out what relief the forecast has in store. >>> later, two major upsets in the u.s. open. a look at the two surprising men's finalists. >>> we welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world to our continuing news coverage here an cnn. i'm george howell. it's just past noon in ukraine and a fragile cease-fire has been rattled by shelling on two separate fronts. artillery and machine gunfire hit a petrol station just outside the southern city of mariupol. in donetsk, the city council says shelling and explosions can be heard near the airport. it is not clear at this point who is responsible but each side now is blaming the other for violating the truce. the area just outside mariupol has seen sporadic fighting between government forces and russian backed rebels before the cease-fire wt

cease-fire would be put in place, and those conditions included an end to military operations in southeastern ukraine, a pulling out of troops, and establishment of a humanitarian corridor, where refugees and victims could get out of the battle zone and humanitarian aid could get in. and international monitors would be put in place to make sure the conditions would be met. yesterday, mr. poroshenko delivered another message saying he was hopeful these conditions would be put in place as early as tomorrow, friday, when all sides of this conflict would once again meet in belarus, but late yesterday prime minister yatsinyuk seemed to pour cold water on this plan, saying this was a russian ploy to avoid sanctions. even so, this is still the best sign yet that these two sides of this conflict are close to a breakthrough, close too a cease-fire. >> they have mixed messages indeed. today, the president is due to meet with nato leaders, what is ukraine looking to get out of nato over the next few days. what are the goals for the ukrainian president, reza? >> what ukraine wants and it looks like they're getti

to begin substantive meaningful talks political organization of sew sate and statehood in southeastern ukraineon sunday a leading republican critic of the obama administration pleaded for the u.s. to provide military hardware to the ukrainians, saying, quote, for god's sake, can't we help these people defend themselves? >> he is establishing a land bridge all the way to crimea and he may threaten moldova and the baltics if he succeeds. when you say, quote, war, it is conflict that requires our participation, not through american ground troops but our participation and our help and our leadership and that is what seems to be missing. >> reporter: thus far the obama administration has only provided non-lethal assistance including the intelligence to the embattled central government in kiev, arthel. arthel: let's talk about the obama administration strategy in the ukrainian crisis. from the beginning they have been using or trying to use diplomatic and financial tools. is there any evidence that has been working? >> reporter: since the russian federation first moved to annex crimea in february, a

harry fawcett, al jazeera, southeastern ukraine. >>> as nato leaders converge on whales for the summitputting a stop to putin's aggression is no doubt at the top of their list, but my next guest says if european members want to properly tackle the problem in their backyard, they need to start pulling their own weight. we got into this topic earlier this week, and you are so well versed on this, we started talking about nato in the midst of talking about burger king and tim horton. everybody wants to stop russia until it comes to paying the bill for your piece of nato that is actually going to do it. >> yeah, this is european's problems. this is in their neighborhood. so is the middle east i would argue. we have the americans nay toe chief saying spending at least 2% of your gdp on military. only five of the members do out of the 28. the united states is there with 48,000 troops in germany and bases that germany and the europeans aren't paying for. >> right. >> so what a lot of us are saying is they are laggards, and that includes canada, who is a nato member, who is only paying 1% of g

certainly another indication that the rebels are continuing to route ukrainian forces, john, in southeastern ukraine. >> with that in mind they seem to be on the verge of taking the town as well. >> if there's going to be another focal point, another flashpoint in this conflict, it's going to be the critical port city if indeed the rebels take that city, they'll have built an established land quarter all the way from the russian border to the crimean peninsula, a territory that the russians already an ex-ed back in march, the anxiety, the tension is building up in that location to the east of that city. you have the rebels seemingly poised for an attack. although they haven't gone in there yet, the outskirts of the city, have you ukrainian forces with resident thes of the city, volunteers building up their defense lines, their fortifications, whether these rebels go in or not, john, we'll have a lot to do with what happens in the nato summit this week, and, of course, the talks that will be taking place in belarus later this week as well. >> also, reza, the headline in the last couple hours, coming

there's mounting evidence here in southeastern ukraine that pro-russian rebels are quickly gaining momentum momentum. the next piece of territory they could be targeting is the critical city of mariupol. this is a port city that sits right along the coast in the sea of azor. at this hour, what you have to the east of mariupol is pro-russian rebels stationed there, bearing down, seemingly ready, poised for an attack on mariupol. just on the outskirts of mariupol you have ukrainian troops, digging trenches, bolstering their defenses. they are extremely concerned and scared over the past 48 hours. many residents have left and others have hunkered down. at this hour, the pro-russian rebels have not decided to make a move to mariupol, but if they do and if they succeed in taking mariupol the next region will be the russian annexed territory, the crimean preninsula. if they get there, that will mean they've established a land bridge. and if you go up from this region, in the donetsk region, the luhansk region, you're sighing rebels pushing down to this area, taking more territory. in the meantime

the guns are falling silent in southeastern ukraine after a cease-fire agreement between the ukrainiand pro-russian rebels apparently is holding. the ukraine crisis and fight to take down isis in iraq and syria dominating the nato summit in wales. david: a lot of news from overseas. rich edson is following it all. he joins from us the white house with the very latest what president obama was saying all about this at the summit. rich? >> well, david and liz, when you look what president obama had to say about all this at great britain he said ukraine's cease-fire will take some time to implement. he took a little credit saying that the sanctions the west threatened and implemented are took credit for these cease-fire negotiations and talks that we have coming up as well. so there is a bit of a positive news when it comes to the cease-fire though the president said he is still wary of russia's intentions. >> went to the cease-fire -- with respect to the cease-fire agreement we're hopeeul but based on past experience skeptical that in fact the separatist it is will follow through and the

he's pushed back against the ukrainian army and other parts of eastern and southeastern ukraine.s gotten a lot of what he wanted. and he would like to have a sort of frozen war if he can get a little bit more, he can. but basically, a lot of his interests have been achieved. and it will make ukraine a weaker economy and weaker political entity and will give him a lot of influence over any outcome if there is a negotiation. >> which is why he wants this so-called frozen war. just wants frozen situation around him. >> frozen war discredits ukraine, because the government really can't govern effectively. it's very hard to integrate more closely with eu if you've lost about a third or quarter of your country. and it also weakens the credibility of the west. this nato summit, which was very important to support the balkins -- the baltics and other countries really didn't do a lot for ukraine. because essentially he was given the signal before he wasn't going to get much and that made poroshenko move toward this settlement or tentative settlement, because he really couldn't get a lot m