Ukraine rebels warn Kiev over truce around battleground town

[newthinking]

Source: AFP

Ukraine rebels warn Kiev over truce around battleground town

Pro-Russian rebels on Saturday warned that any attempts by Kiev forces to move out of the battleground town Debaltseve after the start of a ceasefire would be considered an aggression.

Separatist forces have all but encircled government troops inside the strategic railway hub, roughly mid-way between insurgent capital Donetsk and Lugansk.

Fierce fighting raged around Debaltseve on Saturday in the hours before the 2200 GMT start of a truce intended to be a first step in a peace plan to end 10 months of conflict.

Kiev denies rebel claims that thousands of government troops have been trapped in the town.





Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/ukraine-rebels-warn-kiev-over-truce-around-battleground-town/article/426085

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Comments from the February 13, 2015 Alexander Zakharchenko press conference
(Before the midnight deadline)

"Please note that there is not a single word about Debaltsevo in the Minsk agreements. This means that Ukraine simply betrayed the 5 thousand people in the Debaltsevo cauldron. I can say the following, we will stop fire across the entire territory of Donetsk People's Republic, except for internal areas. Internal areas means Debaltsevo.

Any attempt of UAF to break out of this cauldron or deblock it will be considered a violation of the Minsk agreements, and naturally these attempts will be foiled, and the enemy will be destroyed. "

(Debaltsevo is behind the current battle lines and the Ukrainian forces there are surrounded. Poroshenko denied that the forces were there during the Minsk conference)

[msongs]

1. putin's bloodbath coming up nt

[happyslug]

3. Why??? 5000 live bodies are better than 5000 dead.

From Putin's position 5000 live bodies he can parade and then turn over to the Ukrainian government is much better then 5000 dead bodies he would have to cover up. Turning over 5000 POWs will show Putin is working for peace. Putin is a cold blooded ex KGB officer and as such Putin knows the value of image. Thus he will prefer to look like a peace maker then a butcher.

[bemildred]

2. Kremlin says accords underpinning Ukraine truce must be "unconditionally observed"

MOSCOW, Feb 15 (Reuters) - The package of measures underpinning a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine must be "unconditionally observed", Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said on Sunday.

Dmitry Peskov was commenting on a remark by a senior pro-Russian separatist commander that, despite the truce deal that took effect at midnight, rebels have the right to fire on the town of Debaltseve in east Ukraine as it is "our territory."

Peskov said: "All the sequences of actions have been mentioned in the package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreement. All those terms have to be observed unconditionally," he said.

http://www.trust.org/item/20150215113838-5u35e/