Ukraine President Orders Military To Cease Fire

Saying the bloodshed and suffering must stop, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has ordered his country's military forces to cease fire against Russian-backed rebels in the country's east.

Representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the rebels and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe signed a truce today.

Poroshenko says the two sides will begin a prisoner exchange tomorrow and international monitors will monitor the cease-fire.

With this deal, Russian President Vladimir Putin may hope to avert a new round of Western sanctions.

President Barack Obama said he was hopeful the cease-fire would hold, but skeptical that the rebels would follow through and that Russia would stop violating Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

[Associated Press]