Latest on the corridor:
Pro-Russian rebels have said they would open a safe corridor for Ukrainian forces out of the encircled town of Debaltseve in east Ukraine on condition that they surrender the territory.
The offer was rejected by the Ukrainian military.
A cease-fire in eastern Ukraine was negotiated last week, but the government-controlled town of Debaltseve has been hit by heavy fighting between rebels and thousands of Ukrainian troops effectively trapped there.
Eduard Basurin, an official of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, told Reuters on February 16 that Ukrianian troops would not be harmed if they laid down their weapons and left the town.
Ukrianian military spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov said government troops would not leave because the town is located inside territory under Ukrainian control in accordance with the Minsk cease-fire deal reached last week.
Just beautiful photographs.
International reax to the continued fighting:
The leaders of France, Germany, and Ukraine said they were "concerned" about post-cease-fire fighting in the encircled town of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine.
The government-controlled town of Debaltseve has been hit by heavy fighting between rebels and thousands of Ukrainian troops despite a cease-fire being reached last week in Minsk.
French President Francois Hollande's office said Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who all spoke by telephone on February 16, called for observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to have "free access" for their work in eastern Ukraine.
The OSCE said on February 15 that rebels in eastern Ukraine refused to allow its monitors to reach Debaltseve after the cease-fire took effect.
The rebels have said the cease-fire does not apply to Debaltseve.
Barring any major developments, that concludes the live blogging for today.