June 27, 2014: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko listens to questions during a media conference after a signing ceremony at an EU summit in Brussels.AP
Ukrainian forces reportedly launched a full-scale military operation against pro-Russia separatists in the east on Tuesday, hours after the country's president ended a cease-fire agreement.
The BBC reported that aircraft and artillery were attacking rebel bases and strongholds, government officials said.
"I can inform you that in the morning the active phase of the anti-terrorist operation was renewed," Ukraine's parliament speaker Oleksander Turchynov told MPs on Tuesday. "Our armed forces are carrying out strikes on terrorist bases and checkpoints."
It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed or wounded in the offensive.
Early Tuesday, Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine's prime minister, made a televised address vowing that "we will attack, and we will free our country."
The idea behind the truce, which was announced June 20 and expired at 10 p.m. Monday, was to give pro-Russian rebels a chance to disarm and to start a broader peace process including an amnesty and new elections. Poroshenko, a wealthy candy magnate elected May 25, had already extended the cease-fire from seven days.
But rebels did not disarm, and the cease-fire was continually violated, with both sides blaming each other. Rebels called the cease-fire fake and did not yield to Poroshenko's latest push to get them to turn over key border crossings with Russia and permit international monitoring.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Click here to read more from the BBC.
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