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Reuters

The European Union on Wednesday condemned a rebel offensive against the strategic town of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine as a “clear violation” of an internationally-backed ceasefire.
“The actions by the Russia-backed separatists in Debaltseve are a clear violation of the ceasefire,” the EU’s foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini said in a statement.

“The separatists must stop all military activities,” Mogherini added, only moments after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced that beleaguered Kiev troops had withdrawn from the flashpoint town.
“Safe passage for all those who want to leave the area must also be ensured,” Mogherini said.
Journalists and monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Europe tasked with overseeing the ceasefire have been prevented by rebels from entering the town.
Some 5,000 civilians are thought to be trapped there, many sheltering from the brutal winter in cellars with little water or food.
“The EU calls for immediate access of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to assume its monitoring and verification functions in and around Debaltseve and to any other site the Mission needs to go,” the statement said.
“The EU stands ready to take appropriate action in case the fighting and other negative developments in violation of the Minsk agreements continue.”
The EU warned Russia last week it was prepared to impose more sanctions if the new Ukraine peace pact signed in the Belarusian capital last week was breached.
Brussels first imposed targeted sanctions after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March last year but adopted tougher economic measures after the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in July.
Ukrainian forces began to pull out of a town under siege by Russian-backed separatists on Wednesday as renewed fighting threatened to wreck an international deal aimed at ending the conflict.
Rebel forces, who the pro-Western government in Kiev say are supported and armed by Moscow, fought their way into the eastern Ukrainian town of Debaltseve on Tuesday, ignoring a ceasefire which came into effect on Sunday.
Rebels say the truce, negotiated by Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France at a summit in Belarus last week, does not apply to Debaltseve, a railway and transport hub which links the two rebel-controlled regions of eastern Ukraine.
Pro-government commanders said some forces had pulled out but there were reports of continued fighting in the town.
“The withdrawal of forces from Debaltseve is taking place in a planned and organised way,” said Semen Semenchenko, who heads the Donbass paramilitary battalion.
“The enemy is trying to cut the roads and prevent the exit of the troops,” he said on Facebook.
Another pro-government paramilitary leader, Mykola Kolesnyk, told a television channel that not all troops were pulling out.
“We are talking only about units which are surrounded in populated areas in and around the town,” he said.
A senior Ukrainian police official said fighting was going on in the town. The Ukrainian Defence Ministry, in an early morning statement, also reported fighting there.
News of the withdrawal immediately affected financial markets, with the cost of insuring exposure to Ukrainian debt and the spreads of the country’s dollar bonds over safe haven US treasury bills soaring to record highs.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Kiev and Western countries accuse of directing the rebels’ tank and artillery assault on the town, said on Tuesday that the Ukrainian government should let its soldiers surrender.
Even before the Ukrainian troops were forced to pull back, last week’s peace deal had all but collapsed, with both sides failing to pull back heavy guns as required after the rebels refused to halt their advance.
Putin said Kiev should allow its soldiers to surrender to the advancing rebels.
“I hope that the responsible figures in the Ukrainian leadership will not hinder soldiers in the Ukrainian army from putting down their weapons,” Putin said during a visit to Turkey.


Ukraine troops pull out of Debaltseve as EU slams ‘violation’ of ceasefire 

A convoy of lorries carrying Ukrainian troops leave the area around Debaltseve. Photo: Reuters

Refugees from eastern Ukraine arrive at a train station in Stavropol. Photo: Reuters

Refugees from eastern Ukraine board a bus in Stavropol. Photo: Reuters

Shaky ceasefire masks simmering aggression and deep distrust over Ukraine

Sergey Melnichuk plans action from his office. Photo: Washington Post

Sergey Melnichuk plans action from his office.Photo: Washington Post

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Pro-government forces start pulling out of besieged Ukrainian town


The European Union on Wednesday condemned a rebel offensive against the strategic town of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine as a “clear violation” of an internationally-backed ceasefire.


Ukraine troops pull out of Debaltseve as EU slams ‘violation’ of ceasefire

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Pro-government forces start pulling out of besieged Ukrainian town

Pro-government forces start pulling out of besieged Ukrainian town