Separatist rebels help an injured comrade near a hospital in Donetsk, Ukraine on Feb. 16.(Photo: ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO, EPA)
Ukrainian government troops and Russia-backed separatists have failed to start pulling back heavy weaponry from the front line in eastern Ukraine as the deadline to do so passed.
Under a cease-fire agreement deal brokered Thursday in Minsk, Belarus, among the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany, the warring sides were to begin withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line on Tuesday.
However both sides indicated Monday that they would begin the pullout only after the other party does so.
Ukrainian military spokesman Anatoliy Stelmakh said in televised comments early Tuesday that the separatists continued to attack their positions overnight, and that the pullout hinges on the cease-fire being fully observed.
"As soon as the militants cease fire, the Ukrainian side will begin to withdraw heavy weaponry from the frontline," he said.
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Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted rebel leader Andrei Purgin as saying that the separatists plan to discuss the possible withdrawal of the weaponry later Tuesday with representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is charged with monitoring the ceasefire.
A cease-fire between government troops and pro-Russian separatists came into effect Sunday, but fighting over the strategic railway hub of Debaltsev has continued.
On Tuesday, Kiev reported artillery strikes overnight around Debaltseve, while the situation in the rest of the war zone appeared to be calm.
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On Monday it was reported that separatists launched 112 attacks in 24 hours, 88 of them on Debaltseve, according to Ukraine's UNIAN news agency, citing the Ukrainian military.
Up to 5,000 government troops are in the city, which has rail lines that connect the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk with Russia.
Alexander Zakharchenko, leader of the separatists' self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said the cease-fire that began Sunday does not apply to Debaltseve because it is within the region already held by the rebels and was not mentioned in the agreement approved last week.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki expressed "grave concern" over the fighting around Debaltseve.
"These aggressive actions and statements by the Russia-backed separatists threaten the most recent cease-fire and jeopardize the planned withdrawal of heavy weapons," as called for in the agreement reached last Thursday, Psaki said.
President Obama is weighing whether to give Ukraine more weapons to repel the separatists but has delayed a decision to see if the fighting ebbs.
The leaders of Ukraine, Russia and Germany discussed the cease-fire in a phone call late Monday. The office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel reported that they agreed on "concrete steps to enable an observation" of the situation in Debaltseve by the OSCE. OSCE representatives, however, did not manage to get to Debaltseve on Monday because of heavy fighting there.
Merkel and Ukrainian President Poroshenko appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to use his influence on the separatists to ensure that they stop fighting.
Contributing: Associated Press
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