Kiev, Ukraine:
Ukraine's military on Thursday announced a day-long pause to its brutal offensive to oust pro-Russian rebels in the east, following a plea from the UN for a truce to allow a stalled probe into the downing of Malaysian flight MH17 to go ahead.
"We have taken a decision not to conduct military operations on this so-called 'day of quiet'," military spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkivsky told AFP, adding that the move was in response to an appeal by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to halt fighting.