Cease-fire period begins in Ukraine
Associated Press
KIEV, Ukraine
A cease-fire was declared in eastern Ukraine at a minute after midnight today, kindling slender hopes of a reprieve from a conflict that has claimed more than 5,300 lives.
But within two hours of the cease-fire’s scheduled start, the warring sides already were trading accusations of fresh attacks.
International attention will be focused in the coming days on the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve, where Ukrainian government forces have for weeks been fending off severe onslaughts from pro-Russia separatists.
The U.S. State Department said images from eastern Ukraine offer “credible pieces of evidence” that the Russian military has deployed larger amounts of artillery and multiple rocket launchers around Debaltseve to shell Ukrainian forces.
“We are confident that these are Russian military, not separatist systems,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement Saturday.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued a cease-fire order in a live broadcast for all the country’s armed forces to hold their fire from one minute after midnight Kiev time.
Accusations of violations were quick to follow.
Ukrainian security services chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko said one infringement was reported about 50 minutes after the deadline. Artillery salvoes were fired from an area that Nalyvaichenko said is under the control of a Cossack unit manned by Russian citizens.