Intense fighting follows Ukraine pact

Fierce fighting surged in eastern Ukraine yesterday as Russian-backed separatists mounted a major, sustained offensive to capture a strategic railway hub ahead of a weekend ceasefire deadline. At least 25 people were killed across the region, officials reported.

Clashes appeared only to have increased since a peace agreement was sealed on Thursday in the Belarusian capital of Minsk by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel cautiously described the ceasefire as “a glimmer of hope”.

However, the pending ceasefire only appeared to spark a last-minute grab for territory that left at least 25 people dead. The government-held railway town of Debaltseve was on the receiving end of dozens of artillery and rocket salvos in the 24-hour period following the Minsk talks, Ukrainian military officials said.

Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said 11 soldiers were killed and 40 wounded over the previous day in eastern Ukraine. Regional authorities loyal to Kiev reported at least seven civilian deaths, while rebels said seven others were killed in artillery attacks on the separatist-held cities of Luhansk and Horlivka.

The deadline for the warring sides to halt hostilities is at one minute after midnight. Interfax-Ukraine newsagency quoted Petro Mekhed, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, as saying separatist forces had been given the task of hoisting their flags over Debaltseve, as well as the key port city of Mariupol.

Separatist forces have almost completely encircled Ukrainian forces in Debaltseve, where all but a few thousand civilians have fled.

Ukraine says Debaltseve should remain in government control under the terms of a September peace deal. A copy of that agreement leaked to Ukrainian media shows the town lying on the government’s side of the line of division agreed by rebel and Ukrainian officials.

But both Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko appeared to disagree on what the peace deal meant for Debaltseve.

Ukrainian access to the sole highway still linking the town to government-held territory looks to have been compromised with the apparent capture of the village of Lohvynove, just north of Debaltseve.

The Donbass Battalion, a unit with Ukraine’s National Guard that is engaged in battles around Lohvynove, said in a statement that captured combatants had confirmed that Russian troops were actively involved in the battles.

Shells landed as far as Artemivsk, a government-held town 40km behind the front line. Witnesses saw the body of a child killed after rocket fire hit a kindergarten there.