Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko said he would personally sign an association agreement with the European Union on June 27. <br /><br />He told reporters that will decisively shift Ukraine away from Russia’s influence and rule out joining a Moscow-led customs union.<br /><br />“That’s what we have been waiting so long for, what millions of Ukrainians wanted to achieve and what they’ve been fighting for over the last six months. And I am sure it will take place next week,” said Poroshenko.<br /><br />Earlier, the parliament in Kyiv confirmed Ukraine’s next foreign minister will be the current Ambassador to Germany Pavlo Klimkin.<br /><br />He, along with Poroshenko’s candidates for central bank chief and general prosecutor, was given majority support by lawmakers. <br /><br />As Poroshenko prepares to unveil a peace plan on Friday, footage from Ukrainian national television (Natsionalna Telekompanya Ukrainy) purports to show Russian troops heading towards the border with Ukraine.<br /><br />On the other side of the border, meanwhile, armed Ukrainian men are reportedly poised to fight rebels who rejected a call from Kyiv to lay down their weapons.<br /><br />Kyiv has accused Russia of fomenting the unrest and allowing volunteer fighters from Russia to cross into Ukraine to support the rebels.<br /><br />This is denied by Moscow, which has been urging Poroshenko to end “punitive action” against the rebels.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande voiced concern over Ukraine’s military operation in the east, according to a Kremlin statement cited by Russian news agencies.
