West hikes warnings over Ukraine truce as new flashpoint ignites

The West sounded more forceful warnings over Ukraine’s battered truce Sunday as fighting raged around the port city of Mariupol and the warring sides wrangled over withdrawing heavy weapons. The volatility was underlined by a bomb blast in the eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv that killed two people during a pro-government march. Security officials said they had arrested four suspects linked to the “terrorist” attack.

We are furious that Europe let this happen. Thousands of people have been killed and Europe hasn’t stopped the war.

Albert Baronov, 76, Ukrainian resident

Although the Ukraine ceasefire has managed to tamp down the combat along parts of the frontline, both sides in the conflict accuse the other of regular breaches. On Sunday, the Ukrainian army and the rebels announced they had agreed to pull back heavy weapons from the frontline — an important and overdue part of the truce. But even that part of the deal turned contentious. About the only visible sign of compliance with the ceasefire agreement was a late-Saturday prisoner swap of nearly 200 fighters detained by both sides.

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