Ukraine ceasefire ‘generally observed’

The Ukrainian government said on Sunday morning that the ceasefire agreed last week after marathon talks in the Belarussian capital Minsk was being “generally observed”.

Read more: Fierce fighting in Ukraine as ceasefire looms

It said its forces had been shelled 10 times in the hours since the truce took effect at midnight local time on Saturday, but the incidents were “localised”, not regular, and there were no fatalities.

Hennadiy Moskal, the head of the Kiev-controlled administration for Luhansk, one of the rebellious provinces, said most hot spots had been quiet but a complete ceasefire had not been observed.

A Ukrainian staff officer stationed near Debaltseve said: “The general level (of attacks) has decreased, although there are violations.”

There were reports of explosions near the contested town of Debaltseve. Ukrainian soldiers posted nearby said shelling had stopped. But pro-Russian rebels said they would not observe the truce in Debaltseve, where Ukrainian forces have been encircled.

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Eduard Basurin, a senior rebel commander, said: “Of course we can open fire (on Debaltseve). It is our territory. The territory is internal: ours. And internal is internal. But along the line of confrontation there is no shooting.”

Washington has said regular Russian forces, armed with tanks and missile launchers, carried out an operation in the days before the truce to surround Debaltseve.

Elsewhere in eastern Ukraine there was abrupt silence at midnight. Journalists in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk said artillery bombardment halted and they
heard no firing overnight, after intense barrages of shelling in the final hours before the ceasefire.

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko, wearing military uniform, said in a midnight televised address that he had ordered troops to stop firing in line with the truce.

Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that the ceasefire must be “unconditionally observed”.

The ceasefire deal was agreed after talks between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her counterparts from Ukraine, Russia and France in Minsk.