Ukraine update

Following on from from earlier post here's how things are playing out on the ground.

A ceasefire was signed on Friday that has held for the most part. There was a flash of fighting around Mariupol in the days following the ceasefire - it appears this may have been a last volley against each other before the ceasefire fully took hold.

Since the ceasefire things have apparently been progressing on the surface. The pro-Russia rebels have released 1200 prisoners as part of the deal and the Ukrainian government is making the right noises about providing autonomy to the Eastern regions. This is all very promising but in reality it appears to just be a convenient arrangement - a stalemate situation has been reached and neither side (and I don't mean the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian rebels who are just pawns) feels that a continuation of hostilities will be beneficial. The western powers made significant gains in resting Ukraine from under the control of Russia but Russia has equally made gains in increasing it's control over the eastern regions.

Despite an end to hostilities both Russia, the U.S and E.U continue to insist on firing shots across each others bows. E.U sanctions looks likely to still be put in place tomorrow despite the ceasefire and Russia has apparently cut gas exports to Poland over the course of the week.