EU-mediated talks pose challenge to President Poroshenko's commitment to Europe and vow to end deadly insurgency

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Ukraine has launched dual-track negotiations with Russia aimed at averting a debilitating gas cut and ending a bloody separatist insurgency by the end of the week.

The meetings in Brussels and Kiev present an immediate challenge to new president, Petro Poroshenko, and his commitment to Europe and to his vow to preserve the territorial integrity of the former Soviet state.

The 48-year-old confectionery tycoon and political veteran promised late on Sunday to end fighting this week in Ukraine's economically vital eastern region that has claimed more than 200 lives.

After being sworn in as Ukraine's fifth president on Saturday, he confirmed that Kiev would sign a historic pact with the EU that would finally wrest it from Russia's orbit as soon as the end of the month.

But the eight-week insurgency that Kiev and the west accuse Russia of orchestrating continued unabated over the weekend.

Ukrainian military sources said militants had staged a wave of failed attacks on the international airport in Lugansk, a city near the Russian border. Last month militants briefly seized the main airport in neighbouring Donetsk.

Heavy artillery fire and air bombardments also continued in the rebel stronghold of Slavyansk, an industrial city of 120,000 where many have been sheltering in basements for weeks.

The Ukrainian army also said pro-Russian gunmen had taken several of its soldiers prisoner overnight.

"Some were out in the field, but others were abducted," military spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov posted on Facebook.

"We are still learning the details of everything that happened."

The EU-mediated gas talks in Brussels come on the eve of a Russian deadline for Ukraine to cover a debt of almost €3.2bn (£2.6bn) or have its gas shipments ended.

About 15% of Europe's gas from Russia passes through Ukraine – a dependence EU states have been trying to limit following similar disruptions in 2006 and 2009.

But analysts said the fuel freeze would also deal a blow to the Ukrainian economy, which the International Monetary Fund expects to contract by 5% this year.

Ukraine has refused to pay the bills in protest against Russia's decision to almost double the amount it charges for its gas following the toppling of Kiev's Kremlin-backed president in February.

Sources said the pressure on all sides to agree greatly boosted the chances of a compromise being reached on Monday.

"There is a strong likelihood that this really will be the final meeting at which we expect to agree on a schedule of payments for the already delivered gas," a Russian source close to the negotiations told Moscow's business newspaper Vedomosti .

An unnamed Ukrainian official said he expected Kiev's Naftogaz state energy holding firm to make an immediate payment of €730m for gas it received in the last two months of last year, adding that an initial payment of €330m is expected for April and May.

Moscow's VTB Capital investment bank said the price for future deliveries would probably hover around $360 (£214) a thousand cubic metres of gas – a sum about halfway between Russia's old price and the one set after the rise to power of the new pro-western authorities.

Poroshenko conceded on taking the oath of office that the eastern uprising could not be resolved without the direct involvement of Russia.

The two sides conducted the first of what the Ukrainian leader said should be daily negotiations on Sunday involving a representative from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe – a Vienna-based body that was first tasked with securing peace during the cold war.

After that meeting Poroshenko said the fighting must end this week. "For me, every day in which people die, every day in which Ukraine pays such a high price, is unacceptable."

His pledge was immediately dismissed as political grandstanding by separatists who have taken effective control of a dozen towns and cities and are now seeking a formal invitation to join Russia.

"We are continuing to mobilise, preparing volunteers for the defence of Donetsk," the region's self-proclaimed deputy premier Andriy Purgin told Russia's Interfax news agency.

Poroshenko has yet to give details on how he intends to make gunmen comply with the ceasefire or whether he will order a full withdrawal of the Ukrainian military.

Some analysts said the hurdles facing Poroshenko's presidency were too daunting to quickly surmount.

"Ukraine's new president has inherited considerable political and economic problems, which are more likely to worsen than improve in 2014," said Chris Weafer of Moscow's Macro Advisory consultancy.