Cease-fire sees drop in fighting in Ukraine, but truce still fragile
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Fighting dropped sharply in eastern Ukraine yesterday but there was still sporadic shooting after a cease-fire came into force, the first step in a fragile peace plan aimed at ending 10 months of conflict.
The sound of occasional artillery fire could be heard coming from the direction of the flashpoint town of Debaltseve, where pro-Russian rebels waged fierce battles to surround Ukrainian forces in the hours up to the truce.
Elsewhere, pro-Kiev officials said two civilians were killed when shelling hit the town of Popasna in Lugansk region just 20 minutes after the start of the cease-fire at midnight.
Ukraine’s military said that across the conflict zone, its forces had come under fire 10 times but that shooting had tailed off since 3am.
“In general, the situation in east Ukraine appears to be heading toward stabilization,” military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said.
The deal between Ukraine and the rebels, hammered out in Minsk on Thursday after marathon talks involving the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France, is seen as the best hope to stop fighting that has killed over 5,480 people since April.
But trust is low on all sides and skepticism remains high after the collapse of a previous cease-fire.
The rebels’ defense ministry said the truce was being “generally respected” but accused Ukraine of shooting around Debaltseve.
The transport hub is seen as the flashpoint most likely to torpedo the cease-fire, with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko warning that the truce is “threatened” by the separatists’ tightening the noose there.
Rebels have said that any attempt to move the thousands of government troops they claim to have trapped in Debaltseve will be seen as aggression and draw a response.
Deputy regional police chief Ilya Kiva said shooting in the town and the nearby village of Chornuhine had dropped off but not stopped entirely.
“We hope it will just take a bit of time before we get a full cease-fire,” he said.
In Yenakieve, about 20 kilometers from Debaltseve, a rebel commander Alexei poured cold water on the truce.
“There is no cease-fire around Debaltseve and their won’t be one,” he said.
Ukraine’s military said rebels were still trying to occupy Chornuhine and were moving heavy weapons toward a village close to the government-held port city of Mariupol.
Pressure is high on both sides to stick to the deal and prevent an escalation of the worst East-West crisis since the end of the Cold War.
United States Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by telephone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to underline “the importance of full implementation” of the cease-fire.
Washington and Kiev accused Moscow of fueling the fighting on Saturday by pouring arms across the border to help rebels grab territory. Moscow denied the claims.
Ukraine’s military said nine soldiers were killed and 39 were injured in the hours before the cease-fire.
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