Ukraine's parliament voted on Thursday to extend regulations giving limited self-rule to separatist-controlled eastern regions, a prerequisite for a deal to settle the five-year conflict there.
Lawmakers gave a one-year extension to the regions' "special status", which was adopted in 2014 and has been extended several times.
The conflict in eastern
Ukraine that broke out in 2014 has killed more than 13,000 people, left a large swathe of Ukraine under the control of Moscow-backed separatists and aggravated the deepest East-West rift since the Cold War.