February 20, 2015

Withdrawal from Debaltseve announced

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KYIV – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on February 18 that government forces were completing a “planned and organized” withdrawal from the eastern town of Debaltseve, which has been at the epicenter of fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian militants in recent weeks. “As of now, we can say that 80 percent of our units have left,” Mr. Poroshenko said, adding that two more columns were expected to pull out. Hostilities have continued in Debaltseve, a key transportation hub linking the rebel-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, despite a ceasefire brokered by European leaders last week and supposed to have taken effect on February 15. Mykola Kolesnyk, the leader of a pro-government paramilitary unit, confirmed that Ukrainian forces were pulling out but said not all were withdrawing. “We are talking only about units which are surrounded in populated areas in and around the town,” he told the 112 television channel. Eyewitnesses were quoted as saying dozens of tanks and columns of Ukrainian troops were retreating from the city. Russia’s state-owned Channel One television channel showed the separatists raising their flag over a high-rise building in Debaltseve. Separatist leaders said they were also pulling back their fighters and artillery from some parts of the frontline. They claimed hundreds of Ukrainian troops had surrendered, while Russian state-run television showed images of several dozen Ukrainian troops being escorted along a village road by the rebels. Ukrainian authorities admitted that soldiers had been taken prisoner in Debaltseve but gave no details of how many were captured. (RFE/RL with reporting by Interfax and other news media)

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