Ukraine's parliament has voted to give the east of the country limited self-rule as part of proposals aimed at ending the deadly separatist insurgency.

...

The main points of the legislation, unveiled as part of a peace plan signed with pro-Russian insurgents and Moscow on 5 September are:

• The rebel-held Luhansk and Donetsk regions will be granted a "special status" giving them broader autonomy for a three-year period.

• Local elections will be held in some districts of the two mainly Russian-speaking regions on 7 December. The last local elections held nationwide were in October 2010.

• Use of the Russian language to be allowed in state institutions.

• Regional councils will have the power to appoint local judges and prosecutors.

• Local authorities in Donetsk and Luhansk can "strengthen good neighbourly relations" with their counterparts across the border in Russia.

• The legislation also promises to help restore damaged infrastructure and to provide social and economic assistance to particularly hard-hit areas.

• Another bill on amnesty protects from criminal prosecution "participants of events in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions" – appearing to apply to both the insurgents and Ukrainian government troops. Rights groups have accused fighters on both sides of abuses that might be classified as war crimes.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/16/ukraine-votes-more-power-separatist-east

There still is the matter of Ukraine sliding toward full NATO membership. I wonder if the West will ever acknowledge that NATO has outlived its usefulness and has become a nagging source of potential danger.