Ukraine's parliament has ratified a landmark agreement on political association and trade with the European Union, the rejection of which last November by then President Viktor Yanukovych led to his downfall.
The agreement, whose ratification was synchronised with that of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, won unanimous support from the 355 deputies who took part in the vote.
Six Irish MEPs voted in favour of the accord, while three voted against and two abstained.
Those who voted in favour of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) were Mairead McGuinness, Seán Kelly, Brian Hayes, and Deirdre Clune, of Fine Gael, and the independent MEPs Nessa Childers and Marian Harkin.
Matt Carthy, Lynn Boylan, and Liadh Ni Riada of Sinn Féin voted against it.
Brian Crowley MEP, formerly of Fianna Fáil, abstained, as did Independent MEP Luke Ming Flanagan.
Referring to the deaths of anti-government protesters who came out against Mr Yanukovych's rejection of the pact with the EU and of soldiers killed in fighting separatists, President Petro Poroshenko said: "No nation has ever paid such a high price to become Europeans."
Earlier, Mr Poroshenko formally submitted to parliament a bill offering limited self-rule for the country's separatist east.
The legislation is part of a peace plan signed with pro-Russian insurgents on 5 September aimed at ending five months of bloody conflict.
Under the proposals announced by Mr Poroshenko yesterday, the rebel-held Luhansk and Donetsk regions will be granted broader autonomy for three years.
They will also be able to use Russian in state institutions and conduct local elections on 9 November, according to media reports.
The bill further permits the regions to "strengthen good neighbourly relations" between local authorities and their counterparts in Russia.
The bill also promises to help restore damaged infrastructure and to provide social an economic assistance to particularly hard-hit areas.
Mr Poroshenko's website said yesterday the proposals would pave the way for decentralisation while guaranteeing "the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of our state".
Another draft bill was submitted to grant amnesty to "participants of events in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions" - appearing to apply to both the insurgents and Ukrainian government troops.
Speaking today, Russia’s defence minister said Russia needed to increase its military presence on the Crimea peninsula due to the crisis in Ukraine.
A Russian news agency has quoted Sergei Shoigu as having said "the deployment of proper and self-sufficient forces in the direction of Crimea is one of (our) top priorities.
"The situation in Ukraine has escalated sharply and the presence of foreign military has increased in the immediate vicinity of our borders."
NATO has said any increase in the Russian troop presence in Crimea can only increase tension and further undermine the ceasefire.
