Ukraine's president has a signed a decree opening the way to a formal request for international peacekeepers to be stationed in eastern regions where government forces are battling pro-Russian rebels.
President Petro Poroshenko's office said on Monday the appeal for a contingent of peacekeepers will be addressed to the United Nations and the European Union.
Fighting has waned substantially in eastern Ukraine in recent days as a ceasefire deal forged last month increasingly takes effect, but both sides have complained of sporadic violations.
The UN human rights office on Monday raised its toll of the fighting, saying more than 6,000 people have died since the conflict began in April.
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