Ukrainian officials issue conflicting reports on security of eastern border

KIEV, Ukraine, June 20 (UPI) -- Ukrainian officials issued conflicting reports on whether eastern Ukraine's border has been secured.

At a Friday morning session at the Verkhovna Rada, parliamentary speaker Oleksandr Turchynov relayed that "The Defense Ministry informs that our Armed Forces have reached the village of Izvaryne (Luhansk region) and thus actually completed the operation to shut down the border."

The Ukrainian State Border Guard confirmed the shutdown, and that "All checkpoints are working normally, with the exception of those closed by the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers." However, the National Security and Defense Council countered, insisting, "The border is not completely controlled by our enforces."

President Petro Poroshenko had ordered the Ukrainian armed forces to secure the border, with plans to announce a "unilateral ceasefire" once the border was secured.