Rebels claim key Ukraine city as pullback deadline passes

Oren Dorell | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Raw: No Sign of Ukraine Weapons Withdrawal Ukrainian government troops and Russia-backed rebels faced a deadline Tuesday to start pulling back heavy weapons from the front line in eastern Ukraine. Associated Press reporters saw no signs of it on the ground. (Feb. 17)

Pro-Russian separatists claimed to take control of most of the strategic Ukrainian city of Debaltseve on Tuesday, as a deadline passed for the combatants to pull back their heavy weapons according to a cease-fire agreement.

The Donetsk News Agency, a separatist mouthpiece, quoted the rebels' so-called defense ministry as saying Tuesday that their forces had pushed government troops out of Debaltseve and are now controlling a large part of the city.

Separatist defense minister Vladimir Kononov said 80% of the city was under his forces' control, according to Russian news site Life News. Separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko received medical treatment after he was shot in the ankle during street fighting in the city, Life News reported.

While fighting continues at the strategic railway hub, Ukrainian military spokesman Andruy Lysenko said government forces continue to hold their position in part of the city. Ukraine's military also said some of its soldiers in Debaltseve were captured in an ambush.

Valery Chaly, chief of the Ukrainian presidential administration, said Kiev wants the European Union and NATO to "resolutely condemn" the separatists for violating the deals, the Associated Press reported, citing Russian news agencies.

Ukrainian military spokesman Anatoliy Stelmakh said in televised comments early Tuesday that the separatists continued to attack their positions overnight, and that the pullout hinges on the cease-fire being fully observed.

"As soon as the militants cease fire, the Ukrainian side will begin to withdraw heavy weaponry from the frontline," he said.

Ukrainian government troops and Russia-backed separatists have failed to start pulling back heavy weaponry from the front line in eastern Ukraine as the deadline to do so passed.

Under a cease-fire agreement deal brokered Thursday in Minsk, Belarus, among the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany, the warring sides were to begin withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line Tuesday.

Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted rebel leader Andrei Purgin as saying that the separatists plan to discuss the possible withdrawal of the weaponry later Tuesday with representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is charged with monitoring the cease-fire.

A cease-fire between government troops and pro-Russian separatists came into effect Sunday, but fighting over Debaltseve has continued.

U.S. and other Western leaders expressed concern on their Twitter accounts over the ongoing at Debaltseve, which they blamed on the separatists.

"Concerned by the situation in #Ukraine as separatists refuse to observe cease-fire in Debaltseve & deny #OSCE access," tweeted NATO commander Philip Breedlove.

Geoffrey Pyatt, the U.S. ambassador to Kiev, tweeted: "Very clear that non-compliance around #Debaltseve lies with separatists + Russian military units."

On Tuesday, Kiev reported artillery strikes overnight around Debaltseve, while the situation in the rest of the war zone appeared to be calm.

On Monday, separatists launched 112 attacks in 24 hours, 88 of them on Debaltseve, according to Ukraine's UNIAN news agency, citing the Ukrainian military.

Up to 5,000 government troops are in the city, which has rail lines that connect the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk with Russia.

Shelling could mean ceasefire violations Eastern Ukraine shows signs of shelling which would mean a violation the ceasefire between Ukrainian soldiers and pro-Russian separatists. Julie Noce reports. Video provided by Reuters

Zakharchenko, the rebel leader, said the cease-fire that began Sunday does not apply to Debaltseve because it is within the region already held by the rebels and was not mentioned in the agreement approved last week.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki expressed "grave concern" over the fighting around Debaltseve.

"These aggressive actions and statements by the Russia-backed separatists threaten the most recent cease-fire and jeopardize the planned withdrawal of heavy weapons," as called for in the agreement reached last Thursday, Psaki said.

President Obama is weighing whether to give Ukraine more weapons to repel the separatists but has delayed a decision to see if the fighting ebbs.

The leaders of Ukraine, Russia and Germany discussed the cease-fire in a phone call late Monday. The office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel reported that they agreed on "concrete steps to enable an observation" of the situation in Debaltseve by the OSCE.

OSCE representatives, however, did not manage to get to Debaltseve on Monday because of heavy fighting there.

Merkel and Ukrainian President Poroshenko appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to use his influence on the separatists to ensure that they stop fighting.

Contributing: Associated Press