Ukraine rebels disavow ceasefire at encircled town

Ukraine’s rebels disavowed a new truce on Sunday hours after it took effect, saying it did not apply to Debaltseve, the town where most fighting has taken place in recent weeks. Guns fell abruptly silent at midnight across much of eastern Ukraine in line with the ceasefire agreement, reached after a week of diplomacy led by France and Germany. In a four-way telephone conversation with the leaders of Germany, France and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the position of the four at peace talks last week in Belarus had been for a ceasefire on all the front lines including at Debaltseve.

Truce? I doubt it. Maybe two to three days, and then they will start shooting again. This is all for show. The OSCE is driving around here, so of course they are being quiet.

Maxim, a rebel fighter

The ceasefire, negotiated in all-night four-power talks on Thursday, foresees creation of a buffer zone and withdrawal of heavy weapons. More than 5,000 people have been killed in a conflict that has caused the worst crisis in Russia-West relations since the Cold War. The United Nations was still negotiating a Russian-drafted resolution that would welcome the ceasefire agreement and call on all parties to implement it.

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