RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin asked parliament today to cancel a resolution sanctioning the use of military force in Ukraine.

Russian MP Valery Shnyakin said the house would vote on the issue today.

The request came after anti-Kiev fighters in eastern Ukraine said on Monday that they would respect a ceasefire declared by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

Kiev and Western governments have frequently accused Russia of supporting the rebels in the east and of amassing troops on the border for a possible invasion of Ukraine. 

But President Poroshenko’s lauded Mr Putin’s announcement yesterday, hailing it as a realistic step forward.

The ceasefire in east Ukraine appeared to be largely holding.

However there had been some fighting on Monday night and nine people were killed yesterday when separatists brought down a military helicopter in Slovyansk, according to Kiev.

Security body OSCE, which helped broker talks, chairman and Swiss President Didier Burkhalter said: “We need a ceasefire which lasts longer than five days to be able to start real dialogue.”

The current ceasefire is due to expire on Friday evening.

Mr Poroshenko’s office had said on Monday that he offered Russia a chance to send its own observers to join the OSCE mission in Ukraine.

And Mr Putin added his voice to the calls for the ceasefire to be extended and more talks to take place yesterday.

Meanwhile tri-partite talks between the breakaway eastern republics, Kiev government — represented by former president Leonid Kuchma at Mr Poroshenko’s request — and Russia continued.

At the talks, the rebels promised to release observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe who have been held hostage.

“This will be one of the steps to improve the mutual understanding,” said Alexei Karyakin, a representative of the rebels in the Lugansk region.