
The images of European cities left smouldering and in ruins at the end of the Second World War have been starkly echoed in new pictures revealing wholesale devastation across eastern Ukraine.

Heavily shelled tower blocks, abandoned hotels and airplane noses that look to have dropped from the sky are among the sights depicting the destruction in Donetsk, which in parts equals that seen after the Second World War in cities such as Stalingrad and Dresden.

It comes as heavy weaponry was today towed away from the front line at the village of Paraskoviyvka, north of the government stronghold of Artemivsk, in a move that signified a France and Germany-brokered ceasefire may be beginning to take hold 11 days after it was agreed.

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Destroyed: A shell of a car lies among dead trees in front of heavily shelled tower blocks in Donetsk

Ruins: A heavily damaged hotel stands in ruins near to Donetsk airport in Donetsk, Ukraine

Crushed: A tank can be seen among the shattered buildings in the industrial city of Donetsk that was at the centre of the fighting

A direction sign at Donetsk airport is left riddled with bullet holes, while huge blast craters can be seen on a nearby building

On guard: A separatist soldier stands close to a ruined hotel in Donetsk as weapons were moved away from the front line

A partially collapsed building sits amid the barren landscape after the area surrounding the airport was left ravaged by months of shelling

The move to withdrawn heavy weaponry was Kiev's most direct step to acknowledge that the ceasefire was finally holding, a week after suffering one of the worst defeats of the war at the hands of rebels who initially ignored the ceasefire to launch a major advance.

The pro-Russian rebels, who committed to the truce after their successful offensive, have been pulling back heavy weapons for two days, but Kiev had until now held back from implementing the withdrawal, arguing that fighting had not yet ceased.

However, the army today reported no combat fatalities at the front for a second straight day - the first time no troops have been killed since long before the French and German-brokered truce was meant to take effect.

The withdrawal of artillery is 'point two' of the peace agreement reached in the Belarus capital Minsk, so it amounts to an acknowledgement that 'point one' - the ceasefire itself - is being observed.

'Today Ukraine has begun the withdrawal of 100 millimetre guns from the line of confrontation,' the military said in a statement, saying the step would be monitored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

It said it reserved the right to alter the schedule of withdrawal 'in the event of any attempted offensive'.

Barren trees and a bullet ridden stop sign are all that is left standing in a section of Donetsk airport

A partially destroyed church remains standing despite the obvious damage it has received during months of warfare

One of the main buildings of Donetsk airport is left in ruins after troops withdraw from the bitterly disputed area

Ukrainian troops and rebel forces both began withdrawing artillery from the frontline today in a sign the peace plan may be taking hold. Pictured is the battle worn Donetsk airport

The roof of this abandoned administrative building in Donetsk was completley destroyed during the heavy bombing

A gutted bus sits in the middle of the road between the towns of Debaltseve and Artyomovsk in eastern Ukraine

A part of the airport passengers once used to board flights is left a wreck, with only the frame of the building remaining upright

A rebel soldier wanders through part of Donetsk airport as artillery began withdrawing from the area

A rebel walks through the remains of the airport amid reports both sides have begun withdrawing artillery from the frontline

Rebel soldiers force Ukrainian prisoners of war to search through the wreckage of Donetsk airport to remove dead bodies and weaponry

The airport has been left in ruins, with collapsed roofs and walls burying soldiers after months of shelling and fighting

Witnesses in rebel-held Donetsk said they had heard no artillery in the night although the occasional distant blast or gunshot could be heard during the day.

Rebels brought Ukrainian war prisoners to the ruins of the airport on the north of the town to recover the dead bodies of their fellow Ukrainian troops, left buried in the wreckage since the terminal was captured in January.

Rebels also carried out controlled explosions to blast holes through walls inside the ruined terminal and sent the prisoners down a ladder where the floor had collapsed.

Three dead bodies still lay at the site out of five that had been recovered from the debris yesterday. Prisoners said they were searching for three more they believed were still buried.

The commander of the separatist 'Sparta' battalion, going by the nom de guerre 'Motorola', said the prisoners had been assigned the task because 'it's not our job to recover dead bodies, it's our job to make them.

'They take their comrades out to return them to their mums and dads. Did they think we would feed them for free?'

Airplane noses sit partially damaged near Donetsk airport. The site has been one of the most heavily fought over pieces of land

Damage: A commercial aircraft lies destroyed at the region's airport, which came under heavy bombardment during months of fighting

Bullet-ridden: A destroyed commercial airplanes sit scattered at the airport, revealing the extent of damage caused by months of fighting

Shells: Burnt out vehicles lie strewn next to a destroyed building in Pisky village, in the eastern Donetsk region

Obliterated: An armed soldier of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic army stands inside the damaged Donetsk airport

Rubble: A pro-Russian rebel stands guard while Ukrainian prisoners of war are forced to search through the wreckage

A flimsy building remains standing but covered in shelling damage and bullet holes amid the rubble of Donetsk

The twisted remains of a tank lie near Donetsk airport. On the left is its base, while metres to the right sits the turret

The battle of Stalingrad (pictured), which took place during the Second World War, was a prolonged and entrenched battle which left much of the Russian city in ruins

Donetsk airport has been a totemic battlefield for both sides. Ukrainian troops had held out there for months until the rebels assaulted it after abandoning a previous ceasefire agreed in September.

The separatist rebels initially ignored the new truce last week to launch an advance that led to one of the biggest battles of a war that has killed more than 5,600 people.

But since capturing the strategic town of Debaltseve, where the rebels said the truce did not apply, they have taken pains to emphasise that they now intend to abide by it.

Western countries denounced the rebels and their presumed sponsor, Russian President Vladimir Putin, for advancing on Debaltseve after the truce was meant to take effect. But they have since held out hope that the ceasefire will now hold, with the rebels having achieved that objective.

In the days after its troops were driven from Debaltseve, Kiev maintained that it believed the rebels were reinforcing for another advance, particularly expressing fear for the city of Mariupol, a port of 500,000 people.

Western countries have threatened to impose new economic sanctions on Moscow if the rebels advance further into territory the Kremlin calls 'New Russia'.

Moscow, which denies aiding its sympathisers in Ukraine, said today the threats of more sanctions were cover for Western efforts to undermine the truce.

'It's an attempt to... distract attention from the necessity to fulfil the conditions of the Minsk agreements,' Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

RUSSIA AND CYPRUS SIGN MILITARY DEAL ON USE OF MEDITERRANEAN PORTS Vladimir Putin and his Cypriot counterpart Nicos Anastasiades signed an agreement to give Russian military ships access to Cypriot ports. Ties between Russia and the West have plummeted in the wake of the Ukraine crisis, but Putin said the ships allowed to dock at Cypriot ports would mostly be used in international anti-terrorism and piracy efforts. 'I don't think this should worry anyone,' he said. Cyprus, which is heavily dependent on Russian investment, played down Wednesday's deal, saying Russian ships had always had access to its ports. A government source said it was simply the first time access had been spelled out in a separate accord. Russia has sought to forge stronger ties with individual members of the European Union, including Cyprus, Hungary and Greece, after the 28-nation bloc, along with the United States, imposed cumulative sanctions on Moscow for its role in Ukraine. Officials in Brussels fear this policy is aimed at weakening EU resolve and preventing a further tightening of sanctions. Advertisement

Moving away: Members of the Ukrainian armed forces ride armoured personnel carriers as they pull back from Debaltseve region, near Artemivsk

A rebel soldier makes his way through the debris which litters the ground of Donetsk airport

A pro-Russian rebel smokes a cigarette while making his way through the ruins of Donetsk airport, which has been left completely destroyed

Ukrainian prisoners of war are lined up by rebels before they are ordered to begin sifting through the rubble

Withdrawal: Pro-Russian rebels move tanks and heavy weaponry away from the front line of fighting in accordance with the Minsk II agreement

A pro-Russian rebel stands guard while Ukrainian prisoners of war are forced to search through the wreckage for weaponry and dead bodies of comrades

Pro-Russia rebels are pictured moving tanks and heavy artillery away from the frontline as agreed upon in the recent ceasefire

A rebel soldier looks on from the comfort of his tank after it appeared the France and Germany-brokered ceasefire today began to take hold

A rebel brandishes his assault rifle while tanks withdraw in the distance. The withdrawal of heavy weaponry constitutes the second phase of the peace agreement

A tank travels along a road near Olenivka village, Donetsk, after rebels appeared to adhere to the ceasefire following their defiance of the peace plan when they launched an attack on Kiev troops a week ago

Ukrainian soldiers also started withdrawing heavy weapons. Pictured are a group of soldiers riding an armoured personnel carrier as it tows a cannon away from the frontline