Ukraine troops pull back from key town of Debaltseve as truce falters
Ukraine troops pull back from key town of Debaltseve as truce falters, Ukraine's military said Wednesday that 80% of Ukrainian armed forces have now pulled out of a strategic railroad hub that's been the focus of bitter fighting with pro-Russian separatists.
The two sides have been battling for weeks for control of Debaltseve, and continued conflict there has undermined a truce that apparently went into effect Sunday, raising concerns it is all but dead.
The ramifications for the West are huge because the 10-month-long conflict in eastern Ukraine has hiked tensions with Russia to a level not seen since the end of the Cold War, affecting trade and raising the specter of Russian expansion into Eastern Europe.
Conflicting reports emerged earlier Wednesday about the status of Ukrainian troops in the Debaltseve area, a day after the separatists claimed to control 80% of the town.
Ukrainian defense spokesman Andriy Lysenko said at a Kiev news conference that Ukrainian forces are "conducting an organized retreat" that should be complete "within hours." The update came only hours after authorities said the military operation there was continuing.
The official news agency of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, DAN, quoted separatists as saying there had been a large handover of weapons to the separatist forces in Debaltseve.Russian state news agency Tass cited Igor Plotnitsky, leader of the self-declared Luhansk People's Republic, as saying the separatists may allow the Ukrainian soldiers to leave the area but only if they surrender all arms and equipment.
Lavrov: Don't use Debaltseve as an excuse to derail peace process
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow that Russian President Vladimir Putin had tried to highlight the danger to thousands of Ukrainian troops encircled in Debaltseve before the ceasefire agreement was signed, but that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had denied they were trapped.
Putin had suggested then that the Ukrainian forces should surrender their weapons and so be allowed to leave the area, Lavrov said. The main goal now must be to save the troops' lives, he said.
Lavrov suggested that outside Debaltseve, the weekend ceasefire had taken hold. "Across all conflict lines we can see hostilities have ceased heavy armor started to be moved," he said
And he urged Kiev and the West not to try to use the situation in Debaltseve as "an excuse to derail the process," saying such excuses had been used in the past to hinder peace efforts.
OSCE insists on access to flashpoint town
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is tasked with monitoring the ceasefire and a supposed withdrawal of heavy weapons by both sides to create a buffer zone, has not been able to gain access to Debaltseve because of the continued conflict.
The chief monitor of the OSCE monitoring mission in Ukraine, Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, said Tuesday that he was "profoundly disturbed" by reports from the town. His monitors plan to try to gain access again Wednesday.
"I am especially concerned about the civilian population of the town," said Apakan. "The sides have a duty to them as well, and to each other to adhere strictly to the ceasefire.
I condemn any attempts to create new facts on the ground, and so to change the basis on which the latest package of measures has been agreed."
He pointed the finger at the separatist leaders in Donetsk and Luhansk, saying that they had effectively denied the OSCE monitors access to Debaltseve.
"We insist that they immediately cease the offensive. We insist upon unfettered access to Debaltseve and to the full security zone," he said.
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Wednesday that the separatists' actions in Debaltseve were "a clear violation of the ceasefire" and called for the OSCE observers to be allowed in.
"The separatists must stop all military activities. Russia and the separatists have to immediately and fully implement the commitments agreed to in Minsk," she said.
"The EU stands ready to take appropriate action in case the fighting and other negative developments in violation of the Minsk agreements continue."
Diplomats urge parties to abide by truce
Diplomats in New York scrambled Tuesday to shore up the shaky ceasefire agreement, hammered out by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany on February 12 in Minsk, Belarus.
The United Nations Security Council unanimously voted to approve a resolution calling on all parties to abide by the truce, and its members issued a statement expressing "grave concern at the continued fighting in and around Debaltseve, Ukraine, which has resulted in numerous civilian casualties."
In a call with Poroshenko, the Ukrainian President, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden "strongly condemned the violation of the ceasefire by separatist forces acting in concert with Russian forces" in Debaltseve, according to a White House readout.
Biden also agreed with Poroshenko that if Russia continues to violate the Minsk agreements, "the costs to Russia will rise."
Lavrov dismissed Biden's words as "just another example of how the American position is not constructive."
Russia has steadfastly denied allegations by Kiev and the West that it is sending heavy weaponry and troops over the border into eastern Ukraine.
Village under fire
In the beleaguered village of Shyrokyno, Ukrainian forces struggle to keep control of territory.
Mortar shelling and small arms battles broke out in Shyrokyno on Wednesday morning. Two Ukrainian soldiers were injured, Dmytro Chalov, a spokesman for Ukraine's army in the Mariupol sector, told CNN.Right now, only about a third of the village is under our control," a machine gunner named Yury told CNN's Frederik Pleitgen a day earlier.
Oleg Shiryayev, commander of Ukraine's East Corpus battalion, said the ceasefire "is a farce."
"The fighting is continuing now the way it did before," Shiryayev told Pleitgen. "They continue to attack us, shell us; they use artillery, mortars."
But it's impossible to tell which side is responsible for breaking the ceasefire in Shyrokyno.
To some residents, it doesn't matter.
"The fighting is very heavy. All the windows (of) our house are broken," one woman said. "It is very terrifying. We saved all our lives to buy our house, and now we have nothing.
The two sides have been battling for weeks for control of Debaltseve, and continued conflict there has undermined a truce that apparently went into effect Sunday, raising concerns it is all but dead.
The ramifications for the West are huge because the 10-month-long conflict in eastern Ukraine has hiked tensions with Russia to a level not seen since the end of the Cold War, affecting trade and raising the specter of Russian expansion into Eastern Europe.
Conflicting reports emerged earlier Wednesday about the status of Ukrainian troops in the Debaltseve area, a day after the separatists claimed to control 80% of the town.
Ukrainian defense spokesman Andriy Lysenko said at a Kiev news conference that Ukrainian forces are "conducting an organized retreat" that should be complete "within hours." The update came only hours after authorities said the military operation there was continuing.
The official news agency of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, DAN, quoted separatists as saying there had been a large handover of weapons to the separatist forces in Debaltseve.Russian state news agency Tass cited Igor Plotnitsky, leader of the self-declared Luhansk People's Republic, as saying the separatists may allow the Ukrainian soldiers to leave the area but only if they surrender all arms and equipment.
Lavrov: Don't use Debaltseve as an excuse to derail peace process
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow that Russian President Vladimir Putin had tried to highlight the danger to thousands of Ukrainian troops encircled in Debaltseve before the ceasefire agreement was signed, but that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had denied they were trapped.
Putin had suggested then that the Ukrainian forces should surrender their weapons and so be allowed to leave the area, Lavrov said. The main goal now must be to save the troops' lives, he said.
Lavrov suggested that outside Debaltseve, the weekend ceasefire had taken hold. "Across all conflict lines we can see hostilities have ceased heavy armor started to be moved," he said
And he urged Kiev and the West not to try to use the situation in Debaltseve as "an excuse to derail the process," saying such excuses had been used in the past to hinder peace efforts.
OSCE insists on access to flashpoint town
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is tasked with monitoring the ceasefire and a supposed withdrawal of heavy weapons by both sides to create a buffer zone, has not been able to gain access to Debaltseve because of the continued conflict.
The chief monitor of the OSCE monitoring mission in Ukraine, Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, said Tuesday that he was "profoundly disturbed" by reports from the town. His monitors plan to try to gain access again Wednesday.
"I am especially concerned about the civilian population of the town," said Apakan. "The sides have a duty to them as well, and to each other to adhere strictly to the ceasefire.
I condemn any attempts to create new facts on the ground, and so to change the basis on which the latest package of measures has been agreed."
He pointed the finger at the separatist leaders in Donetsk and Luhansk, saying that they had effectively denied the OSCE monitors access to Debaltseve.
"We insist that they immediately cease the offensive. We insist upon unfettered access to Debaltseve and to the full security zone," he said.
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Wednesday that the separatists' actions in Debaltseve were "a clear violation of the ceasefire" and called for the OSCE observers to be allowed in.
"The separatists must stop all military activities. Russia and the separatists have to immediately and fully implement the commitments agreed to in Minsk," she said.
"The EU stands ready to take appropriate action in case the fighting and other negative developments in violation of the Minsk agreements continue."
Diplomats urge parties to abide by truce
Diplomats in New York scrambled Tuesday to shore up the shaky ceasefire agreement, hammered out by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany on February 12 in Minsk, Belarus.
The United Nations Security Council unanimously voted to approve a resolution calling on all parties to abide by the truce, and its members issued a statement expressing "grave concern at the continued fighting in and around Debaltseve, Ukraine, which has resulted in numerous civilian casualties."
In a call with Poroshenko, the Ukrainian President, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden "strongly condemned the violation of the ceasefire by separatist forces acting in concert with Russian forces" in Debaltseve, according to a White House readout.
Biden also agreed with Poroshenko that if Russia continues to violate the Minsk agreements, "the costs to Russia will rise."
Lavrov dismissed Biden's words as "just another example of how the American position is not constructive."
Russia has steadfastly denied allegations by Kiev and the West that it is sending heavy weaponry and troops over the border into eastern Ukraine.
Village under fire
In the beleaguered village of Shyrokyno, Ukrainian forces struggle to keep control of territory.
Mortar shelling and small arms battles broke out in Shyrokyno on Wednesday morning. Two Ukrainian soldiers were injured, Dmytro Chalov, a spokesman for Ukraine's army in the Mariupol sector, told CNN.Right now, only about a third of the village is under our control," a machine gunner named Yury told CNN's Frederik Pleitgen a day earlier.
Oleg Shiryayev, commander of Ukraine's East Corpus battalion, said the ceasefire "is a farce."
"The fighting is continuing now the way it did before," Shiryayev told Pleitgen. "They continue to attack us, shell us; they use artillery, mortars."
But it's impossible to tell which side is responsible for breaking the ceasefire in Shyrokyno.
To some residents, it doesn't matter.
"The fighting is very heavy. All the windows (of) our house are broken," one woman said. "It is very terrifying. We saved all our lives to buy our house, and now we have nothing.