Photograph: Pierre Crom/Getty Images
Severe armed conflicts between the pro-Russian forces and the Ukrainian army around a strategic rail hub of Debaltseve, east of Donetsk, continued throughout Monday in response to fighting that threatens to eliminate a ceasefire deal brokered the previous week.
Reporters in Luhansk, a town still under the Ukrainian government, about 15-km away from Debaltseve heard noises of shelling that seemed to happen on a regular basis. The two sides are currently on the verge of a treaty to begin removing troops and heavy ammunition negotiated by the heads of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany from the front line. A loaded Grad rocket was apparently seen to be pointed out in the direction of the town, but it was not fired amidst the presence of the journalists.
A representative from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe(OSCE) promised to travel to the Ukrainian city on Tuesday to evaluate the current situation.
Meanwhile, separatist official Eduard Basurin spoke in a news conference on Monday, aired later that the government had lobbed arms at Horlivka, a town under the control of rebels, overnight. Ukrainian government has held the rebels responsible for the attack.
Tags: ceasefire Eduard Basurin pro-Russian force Russia Ukraine Ukraine crisis
