Merkel and Hollande met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev on Thursday. Dismissing rebel demands to account for recent territorial gains, Poroshenko called for a return to the ceasefire terms agreed to in September.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko: “The Minsk plan is very simple: immediate ceasefire; releasing all the hostages; closing the border, or renew the internationally recognized border on Ukrainian (side); withdrawal all of the foreign troops from the Ukrainian territory; launching very important process of the political regulation by the election on the municipal election, local election, under Ukrainian legislation in the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk.”

On Thursday, the Ukraine government said it had arrested a senior military officer on charges of spying for Russia, raising new concerns about the infiltration of Ukraine forces.