A woman and a cat sit on a bench outside a damaged apartment building in Debaltseve, Ukraine.(Photo: Vadim Ghirda, AP)
The Ukrainian government has disputed a claim by Russian-backed separatists that rebels have begun a pullback of heavy weapons in eastern Ukraine.
The claim by Eduard Basurin, a top commander for rebels in the Donetsk region, could not be verified. Michael Bociurkiw, a spokesman for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which is monitoring the fighting, said he could not comment until monitors' reports are received at the end of the day.
Rebels in the neighboring separatist Luhansk region also said a pullback was taking place. The Ukrainian military dismissed the separatists' claims and said its forces would not draw their weapons away until a cease-fire takes hold.
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Foreign ministers from Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France are currently discussing the situation at a meeting in Paris. The chairman of the OSCE — Serbia — is also scheduled to deliver the organization's annual report to the U.N. Security Council.
On Monday, Ukrainian military spokesman Lt. Col. Anatoliy Stelmakh told reporters that continuing attacks by Russia-backed separatists had delayed the pullback by government forces. He said the pullback will not start until rebel attacks stop entirely.
The move to pull back weapons is in accordance with an agreement brokered Feb. 12 in Minsk, whose initial step was a cease-fire between government forces and separatists, coming into effect Feb. 15. However, fighting has continued.
Under the agreement, both sides are to pull back their big guns and rockets from 15 to 43 miles away from the conflict line — depending on the weapons' size — creating a buffer zone of 31 to 87 miles.
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Russia denies claims that it is supplying rebels with troops and equipment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking to Russian state TV, said war between Russia and Ukraine was unlikely.
In reply to the question "Will we wake up one day to learn we are at war?" Putin said: "I think that this apocalyptic scenario is highly unlikely, and I hope it never comes to that," in remarks published on the Kremlin's website Monday.
"(If) the Minsk agreements are implemented, I am confident that the situation will gradually return to normal," he said. "And I imagine that Europe is just as interested in implementing the Minsk agreements as Russia. Nobody needs a conflict on the periphery of Europe, especially an armed conflict."
More than 5,400 people have lost their lives since the conflict began around a year ago, and close to a million people have been displaced from their homes. Tens of thousands of people have fled to neighboring countries. A previous peace deal agreed to in Minsk in September failed to quell the violence.
Contributing: Associated Press. USA TODAY editorial partner GlobalPost is launching a Kickstarter campaign to expand its coverage of the world's war zones. To see more or contribute, click here.
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