Ukraine conflict: ceasefire comes into force but fighting continues

Europe, News February 15, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

A ceasefire agreed between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russia fighters has come into force amid hopes it would usher in the end of the bloody conflict in eastern Ukraine.

However a pro-Kiev official says two civilians have been killed just hours after a ceasefire deal between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army went into effect in the east of the country.

Though preceded by surging fighting, the truce officially started at midnight Ukraine time (2200 GMT on Saturday).

Marathon talks in the Belarusian capital of Minsk led to the conclusion of an agreement between the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany on Thursday to end the nearly-year-long conflict.

Under the deal, heavy weapons are also to be withdrawn from the frontlines of the conflict.

Shelling stopped at midnight in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered government forces to cease fire.

The fighting between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russia forces in eastern Ukraine has taken a heavy toll on thousands of people since mid-April 2014.

Over 5,500 people have died and some 12,200 wounded in the conflict, the United Nations says. Around 1.5 million people have also been forced from their homes over the past months of turmoil.

Also on Saturday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned of dire consequences for Europe if the Ukraine ceasefire fails.

“If we fail now in our efforts, all parties involved in the region… will pay a high price,” he said. “I call on the warring parties to act sensibly and avoid further escalation.”

Speaking early Sunday, shortly after the start of the truce, Poroshenko also claimed the peace process in Ukraine was being “threatened” by pro-Russia fighters.

He said the fighters will use the eastern Ukraine town of Debaltseve “to undermine the ceasefire.”

US President Barack Obama called Poroshenko on Saturday to express his “deep concern” and “sympathy” over violence.

“The president spoke with Ukrainian President Poroshenko today to express his sympathy for the mounting toll of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and his deep concern about the ongoing violence, particularly in and around Debaltseve,” a White House statement said.

Earlier on Saturday, Russia said Kiev and its Western allies had twisted the peace deal.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that several official representatives of Ukraine and the Western countries, “the United States in particular, have essentially expressed solidarity with the opinion of radical nationalists in the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament).”

The ministry warned that the Ukrainian government and the West were “putting in doubt the implementation of the document’s concrete measures.”

HN/NN