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| Amid doubts, truce in Ukraine appears to largely hold | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine — A newly declared cease-fire in eastern Ukraine appeared to mostly hold through the night Sunday, though both Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels had traded accusations of violations by the morning. | ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine — A newly declared cease-fire in eastern Ukraine appeared to mostly hold through the night Sunday, though both Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels had traded accusations of violations by the morning. |
| Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and pro-Russian rebel leaders ordered their fighters to hold fire just after midnight Sunday, bringing a tenuous pause to fighting that had been rapidly escalating in recent days, with violence ratcheting up particularly strongly since the two sides agreed Thursday to the midnight deadline in peace talks in Minsk, Belarus. | Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and pro-Russian rebel leaders ordered their fighters to hold fire just after midnight Sunday, bringing a tenuous pause to fighting that had been rapidly escalating in recent days, with violence ratcheting up particularly strongly since the two sides agreed Thursday to the midnight deadline in peace talks in Minsk, Belarus. |
| But the cease-fire was not being fully upheld in the area around Debaltseve, where occasional sounds of artillery fire and shelling were audible along the roadway from Artemivsk into the besieged city Sunday afternoon. Ukrainian military officials and pro-Russian separatist leaders have each accused the other side of breaking the cease-fire several times in the area around Debaltseve, where rebel forces had all but surrounded the city by Saturday night — and where, separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko had told Russian news agency Interfax, he would not order his fighters to cease hostilities. | But the cease-fire was not being fully upheld in the area around Debaltseve, where occasional sounds of artillery fire and shelling were audible along the roadway from Artemivsk into the besieged city Sunday afternoon. Ukrainian military officials and pro-Russian separatist leaders have each accused the other side of breaking the cease-fire several times in the area around Debaltseve, where rebel forces had all but surrounded the city by Saturday night — and where, separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko had told Russian news agency Interfax, he would not order his fighters to cease hostilities. |
| The caveat prompted Poroshenko to issue a warning along with his cease-fire order, delivered live on Ukrainian television, saying that if the rebels did strike Debaltseve — or any other point along the contact line — troops would respond. | |
| “If they hit us in one cheek, we will not turn the other,” Poroshenko said. | “If they hit us in one cheek, we will not turn the other,” Poroshenko said. |
| Each side has put the onus of maintaining the cease-fire fully in the other’s court. Few on the ground believe it will hold. | Each side has put the onus of maintaining the cease-fire fully in the other’s court. Few on the ground believe it will hold. |
| “This cease-fire won’t amount to anything — they’ll have a break, and regroup their forces,” said Anatoly Hromovoy, 46, a senior lieutenant in the army who was one of the first troops to break out of Debaltseve in the hours after the cease-fire in a small convoy carrying dead soldiers and the wounded. He had to wait two days after being injured for the opportunity to get out. “It’s going to be a huge fight. It can get worse; Debaltseve wasn’t yet a massacre.” | “This cease-fire won’t amount to anything — they’ll have a break, and regroup their forces,” said Anatoly Hromovoy, 46, a senior lieutenant in the army who was one of the first troops to break out of Debaltseve in the hours after the cease-fire in a small convoy carrying dead soldiers and the wounded. He had to wait two days after being injured for the opportunity to get out. “It’s going to be a huge fight. It can get worse; Debaltseve wasn’t yet a massacre.” |
| “I was in Ilovaysk,” Hromovoy added, referring to the final critical siege of the eastern Ukrainian conflict from this summer, when troops were surrounded in the town outside the coastal town of Mariupol, before the two sides signed a first cease-fire agreement, also in Minsk. “But this is a completely different war.” | “I was in Ilovaysk,” Hromovoy added, referring to the final critical siege of the eastern Ukrainian conflict from this summer, when troops were surrounded in the town outside the coastal town of Mariupol, before the two sides signed a first cease-fire agreement, also in Minsk. “But this is a completely different war.” |
| Hromovoy said that the soldiers in Debaltseve “felt trapped” for several days and that the city was pummeled until about 11:45 p.m. Saturday, at which point the shelling fell away. But about 2 a.m., when the trucks carrying the dead soldiers and the wounded tried to get to the hospital in Artemivsk 30 miles away, they were shot at, he said. The shots missed only because the vehicles were in a heavy fog, Hromovoy and his fellow wounded soldier Aryom Maximov surmised. | |
| “Just the killed and wounded got out,” Maximov, 31, said, adding that only seven living soldiers were in his convoy — but he didn’t know whether others had escaped. | |
| Both rebels and Ukrainian troops estimate that 5,000 pro-Kiev soldiers became trapped in the city as separatist forces all but surrounded it, not physically blocking the main road into and out of Ukrainian-controlled territory, soldiers said, but effectively controlling it from their shelling positions on either side. | |
| On Saturday, the Obama administration released satellite images that it said showed that the Russian army had joined the rebels in a full-scale assault to surround troops in the area around the city. Russia has denied that it is a party to the conflict, and it was impossible to verify the three grainy black-and-white satellite images posted to Twitter by the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt. | |
| According to the United States, the images, commissioned from the private Digital Globe satellite company, showed artillery systems and multiple-rocket launchers Thursday in the area near Debaltseve. | According to the United States, the images, commissioned from the private Digital Globe satellite company, showed artillery systems and multiple-rocket launchers Thursday in the area near Debaltseve. |
| “We are confident these are Russian military, not separatist, systems,” Pyatt tweeted. | “We are confident these are Russian military, not separatist, systems,” Pyatt tweeted. |
| In comments leading up to his cease-fire order, Poroshenko also noted that Russia had shown a particular interest in the Debaltseve area during the marathon cease-fire negotiations in Minsk. Ukrainian and U.S. officials have asserted that separatists used the 2.5-day window to try to seize the city. | In comments leading up to his cease-fire order, Poroshenko also noted that Russia had shown a particular interest in the Debaltseve area during the marathon cease-fire negotiations in Minsk. Ukrainian and U.S. officials have asserted that separatists used the 2.5-day window to try to seize the city. |
| The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday that Ukraine and the United States have “begun to distort the content of the Minsk agreements.” | The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday that Ukraine and the United States have “begun to distort the content of the Minsk agreements.” |
| Early Saturday night, the steady, rumbling sound of shelling in Debaltseve could still be heard in the center of Artemivsk, a city that has served as a triage point for wounded soldiers and escaping civilians as fighting in Debaltseve has worsened. A few hours earlier, Artemivsk had come under shelling for the second time in as many days — though no one was killed. | Early Saturday night, the steady, rumbling sound of shelling in Debaltseve could still be heard in the center of Artemivsk, a city that has served as a triage point for wounded soldiers and escaping civilians as fighting in Debaltseve has worsened. A few hours earlier, Artemivsk had come under shelling for the second time in as many days — though no one was killed. |
| In the final two hours before the cease-fire deadline, fog rolled in and the city went quiet, save for a few couples marking Valentine’s Day in a relatively empty Japanese restaurant and pensive men in military fatigues, many carrying assault rifles, pacing the halls of hotels and the hospital, or attempting to calm themselves with a beer in the city’s one open pizza joint. | In the final two hours before the cease-fire deadline, fog rolled in and the city went quiet, save for a few couples marking Valentine’s Day in a relatively empty Japanese restaurant and pensive men in military fatigues, many carrying assault rifles, pacing the halls of hotels and the hospital, or attempting to calm themselves with a beer in the city’s one open pizza joint. |
| “No one gets in, and no one gets out,” said Bogdan, a sergeant who commands a 60-member unit in Chornukhyne, a suburb of Debaltseve, in the lobby of the Hotel Ukraina. He came to Artemivsk from the front about a week ago because of minor injuries, he said, but now, unable to return because of the rebel movements, he has been calling his men every two hours to check how badly they are surrounded. | “No one gets in, and no one gets out,” said Bogdan, a sergeant who commands a 60-member unit in Chornukhyne, a suburb of Debaltseve, in the lobby of the Hotel Ukraina. He came to Artemivsk from the front about a week ago because of minor injuries, he said, but now, unable to return because of the rebel movements, he has been calling his men every two hours to check how badly they are surrounded. |
| When asked about his hopes for the cease-fire, Bogdan snorted. | When asked about his hopes for the cease-fire, Bogdan snorted. |
| “I don’t believe in it,” he said. “I don’t believe in Santa Claus, either.” | “I don’t believe in it,” he said. “I don’t believe in Santa Claus, either.” |
| Few soldiers believe the cease-fire will hold, and some are ready to dole out blame all around. | |
| “Russia takes what it wants, even though we have the capability to fight back,” said Igor, 24, a former infantryman who is now a minesweeper. He dropped his rifle on the floor with a clang and pushed a beer aside to brandish a set of armor-piercing bullets his unit recently found on former rebel territory — ammunition he said could have come only from Russia. | “Russia takes what it wants, even though we have the capability to fight back,” said Igor, 24, a former infantryman who is now a minesweeper. He dropped his rifle on the floor with a clang and pushed a beer aside to brandish a set of armor-piercing bullets his unit recently found on former rebel territory — ammunition he said could have come only from Russia. |
| “It is so much worse than what they show on television,” said Vitaly, 28, his colleague, complaining that most of the information about the conflict is “Ukrainian propaganda or Russian propaganda” — and that all of it plays down the seriousness of the situation at the front. | “It is so much worse than what they show on television,” said Vitaly, 28, his colleague, complaining that most of the information about the conflict is “Ukrainian propaganda or Russian propaganda” — and that all of it plays down the seriousness of the situation at the front. |
| “If they say seven or eight are dead, it’s really 70 or 80,” Vitaly said. “They’re sending people into the field with no protection and no place to hide.” | “If they say seven or eight are dead, it’s really 70 or 80,” Vitaly said. “They’re sending people into the field with no protection and no place to hide.” |
| Earlier Saturday, a Ukrainian military spokesman said seven soldiers had been killed and 23 wounded in the previous 24 hours. | |
| The 10-month-old conflict has cost at least 5,300 lives, according to U.N. estimates, and displaced more than a million people. | The 10-month-old conflict has cost at least 5,300 lives, according to U.N. estimates, and displaced more than a million people. |
| Rebels control only a portion of the Donetsk region. But they warned Saturday that if they are not satisfied that Kiev is upholding its commitments under the Minsk agreement to give them strong powers of autonomy, they will try to conquer more territory. | Rebels control only a portion of the Donetsk region. But they warned Saturday that if they are not satisfied that Kiev is upholding its commitments under the Minsk agreement to give them strong powers of autonomy, they will try to conquer more territory. |
| “If our demands about de facto independence are not fulfilled, we will declare that the whole territory of Donetsk region is ours,” rebel leader Zakharchenko said, according to Russian news agencies. “It doesn’t matter by what means it is seized. If it doesn’t work by political means, we have shown that it is possible in another way.” | “If our demands about de facto independence are not fulfilled, we will declare that the whole territory of Donetsk region is ours,” rebel leader Zakharchenko said, according to Russian news agencies. “It doesn’t matter by what means it is seized. If it doesn’t work by political means, we have shown that it is possible in another way.” |
| In the peace deal, Ukraine and the rebels committed to pull heavy weaponry 30 to 85 miles from the front lines. Ukraine also said it would end an economic blockade of rebel-held territories and offer the areas broad powers of self-rule. A commitment was made to pull foreign fighters from Ukrainian territory, and Ukraine is to receive full control of its border by the end of the year. | In the peace deal, Ukraine and the rebels committed to pull heavy weaponry 30 to 85 miles from the front lines. Ukraine also said it would end an economic blockade of rebel-held territories and offer the areas broad powers of self-rule. A commitment was made to pull foreign fighters from Ukrainian territory, and Ukraine is to receive full control of its border by the end of the year. |
| Poroshenko said that he spoke to President Obama on Saturday and that they agreed on “further coordination of efforts in case of escalation,” Poroshenko spokesman Syvatoslav Tsegolko wrote on Twitter. | |
| If the cease-fire is broken, Poroshenko said, martial law would be imposed “across Ukraine.” | If the cease-fire is broken, Poroshenko said, martial law would be imposed “across Ukraine.” |
| Alexander Pustovit contributed to this report. | Alexander Pustovit contributed to this report. |