Ukraine's President Agrees On Autonomy Referendum

(Vatican Radio) Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has for the first time publicly lifted his objections to a referendum that could give more powers to regions controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Monday's announcement came while nation faces its first anniversary of a year-long insurgency and more deaths.   

Listen to the report by correspondent Stefan Bos: 

Since April 6 last year, pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces have been fighting in eastern Ukraine in a conflict that has claimed more than 6,000 lives.

Among the latest casualties were nine Ukrainian soldiers who have been killed in several conflict-related incidents since Saturday.

Amid the mounting death toll, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told a parliamentary commission during a televised meeting that if the commission decides a vote on more autonomy for the separatists areas in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions is necessary he would not stand in the way of a referendum.

POROSHENKO CRITICAL

Yet, Poroshenko has made clear he remains opposed to the idea of federalization, which Russia has advocated and the rebels idea of an independent state. "The only one who can make this decision is the Ukrainian people," he told Euronews television in an interview.

"And under our legislation, our constitution, the federal status of Ukraine can be decided only with a nationwide referendum," Poroshenko stressed.

"At the present stage almost 90 percent of Ukrainians are completely against the federal status. Why? Because we are a unitarian state in we do not accept any form of pressure on Ukraine," he said.

Poroshenko makes clear that Ukraine will not agree on federalization in exchange for peace, saying his country "will never accept" what he calls "an ultimatum" or "blackmail".

Poroshenko also demands that decision-making on security, defense and foreign policy will remain in the hands of the central government in Kiev.

RUSSIAN LANGUAGE

And in controversial remarks, he warned Monday that he doesn't support making Russian a second official language. In his words everyone should "remember it as the Lord's Prayer: Ukrainian has been and will be our only state language."

Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland, now a battle ground, was the support base for Kremlin-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted in February last year after months of pro-Western protests.

Soon Russian backed separatists launched a war for control over the region, after Russia already annexed the Crimean Peninsula, prompting Western sanctions. 

Though the international Red Cross group has now managed to bring at least some humanitarian aid into the war town area, Europe's security organization OSCE says ceasefire violations continue.