This just in from our news desk:
Ukrainian government officials and pro-Russian separatists have reportedly agreed a brief humanitarian truce around the east town of Debaltseve.
Ukraine Interior Ministry official Vyacheslav Abroskin told AFP news agency that the cease-fire was agreed to allow besieged civilians to be evacuated.
Rebels said the truce would last from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time on February 6, and that buses carrying civilians had already left Debaltseve.
Earlier, the Reuters news agency reported that dozens of empty buses escorted by monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were heading toward the town.
Witnesses said there was no firing between government forces and separatists as the convoys moved toward Debaltseve.
Debaltseve is within a narrow strip of land in the region of Donestk that is under Ukrainian government control in the midst of territory controlled by separatists.
It has been the scene of heavy fighting for several weeks, with separatists pushing forward with an offensive they say is aimed at controlling the entire Donetsk region.
(AFP, Reuters, Interfax)
It's the Munich security today. And Ukraine is top of the agenda.
The conflict in Ukraine is expected to dominate an annual security conference that opens in Munich on February 6.
Dozens of world leaders and ministers will gather in the German city for the three-day event.
German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will address the conference on February 6.
The top NATO commander, U.S. General Philip Breedlove, will then take part in a discussion on hybrid warfare, a term that characterizes the conflict in Ukraine, where government forces have been battling pro-Russian separatists since April 2014.
On February 7, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will address the conference, followed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
More on the truce around the eastern town of Debaltseve:
Ukrainian government officials and pro-Russian separatists have reportedly agreed a brief humanitarian truce around the east town of Debaltseve.
The temporary truce was declared as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande pressed forward with a new peace plan to end the Ukraine crisis.
Ukraine Interior Ministry official Vyacheslav Abroskin told AFP news agency that the cease-fire was agreed to allow besieged civilians to be evacuated.
Rebels said the truce would last from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time on February 6, and that buses carrying civilians had already left Debaltseve.
Earlier, the Reuters news agency reported that dozens of empty buses escorted by monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were heading toward the town.
Witnesses said there was no firing between government forces and separatists as the convoys moved toward Debaltseve.
Debaltseve is within a narrow strip of land in the region of Donestk that is under Ukrainian government control in the midst of territory controlled by separatists.
It has been the scene of heavy fighting for several weeks, with separatists pushing forward with an offensive they say is aimed at controlling the entire Donetsk region.
We have some video reports now from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.
In this clip, Ukrainain soldier Yaroslav Havanets was captured by pro-Russian separatists during the long battle over Donetsk airport. His captors released him this week after his father posted a video message offering himself as a hostage in place of his son. Shortly after his release, Havanets told RFE/RL in Donetsk about the clashes at the destroyed airport, where the Ukrainian soldiers earned the nickname of "cyborgs" for their fierce fighting.
And here's another one.
This time RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service spoke to soldiers from the Dnipro-1 volunteer unit, which has come under continued attacks from pro-Russian separatists at a checkpoint near the village of Pisky, north-west of Donetsk, over the past week. Interviewed on February 3-4, the men were backed up by armor from the regular Ukrainian army. In recent weeks government forces have been pushed back by a separatist offensive in eastern Ukraine.
