Washington accuses Moscow of exploiting the Ukraine cease-fire:
Washington has accused Moscow of cynically exploiting an internationally backed cease-fire deal for eastern Ukraine by supporting a fierce assault by pro-Russian separatists who seized the strategic town of Debaltseve.
The White House said on February 18 that Russia has failed to live up to terms of a new cease-fire deal reached in Minsk and is "at risk of greater costs," such as further sanctions.
The U.S. State Department said it did not consider the cease-fire "dead," but expressed concern about ongoing violence.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on February 18 urged Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to stop attacks by Russian troops and separatist fighters against Ukrainian government troops.
The statements follow the withdrawal of hundreds of exhausted government troops from Debaltseve, a strategic railway hub between the main separatist-controlled cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Separatist fighters on February 18 claimed total control of Debaltseve after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko confirmed what he called "a planned and organized withdrawal."
Defense officials in Kyiv said a total of 2,459 Ukrainian soldiers left Debaltseve on February 18. (Reuters, AP, AFP, Interfax, TASS)
This ends our live blogging for February 18. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.
Good morning, here's the latest from our news desk:
Ukraine has called for UN-mandated peacekeepers to enforce a shaky cease-fire deal in the country’s east.
At an emergency security meeting on February 18, President Petro Poroshenko said "the best format would be a police mission from the European Union."
Russian-backed separatists denounced the call for peacekeepers, saying their presence would "violate" the truce agreed in Minsk last week.
Ukraine made the call after Ukrainian troops withdrew from the strategic town of Debaltseve following intense fighting.
The rebel advance, which came in spite of the cease-fire, has been widely condemned.
Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of sending in troops and weapons to spearhead the assault on Debaltseve, which Moscow denies.
The White House said Russia has failed to live up to terms of the Minsk deal and is “at risk of greater costs” such as further sanctions.
LATEST: Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Poroshenko's proposal put into doubt Ukraine's resolve to fulfil the Minsk agreements.
Video of a Ukrainian soldier falling off a fighting vehicle outside Debaltseve:
Here's the latest wrap from our news desk:
Ukraine has called for UN-mandated peacekeepers to enforce a shaky cease-fire deal in the country’s east after Ukrainian troops withdrew from the strategic town of Debaltseve following intense fighting.
President Petro Poroshenko’s request was approved by Ukraine's national security and defense council at an emergency meeting late on February 18.
Poroshenko told the council that "the best format would be a police mission from the European Union."
He said such a force would be “the most effective and best guarantee for security."
There have been conflicting statements by Russian-backed separatists on whether they support the call for peacekeepers.
Russia's RIA news agency quoted Denis Pushilin, a rebel leader in Donetsk region, as saying the presence of peacekeepers would "violate" the truce agreed in Minsk last week.
But Eduard Basurin from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic "defense ministry," said: "If they want to deploy [peacekeepers], let them do so. We do not object," according to Interfax.
Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Poroshenko's proposal put into doubt Ukraine's resolve to fulfil the Minsk agreements.
"When someone, instead of doing what he has signed up to, suggests a new scheme and so soon, that raises suspicions that he wants to destroy the Minsk accords," he was quoted as saying by RIA.
Under the Minsk deal, meant to quell a conflict that has killed more than 5,600 people since April 2014, both sides were due to lay down their arms on February 15 and begin withdrawing heavy armor from the frontlines two days later.
The cease-fire has been broadly observed in eastern Ukraine and some heavy weaponry is said to have been withdrawn by both sides.
But the rebels continued their assault on Debaltseve, a railway hub linking the main separatist-held cities of Donetsk and Lugansk, even after the Minsk agreement was signed.
Poroshenko said nearly 2,500 government troops on February 18 retreated from the town.
He said six soldiers were killed and more than 100 injured in what he described as "a planned and organized withdrawal."
But exhausted troops seen arriving in the neighboring town of Artemivsk on tanks and other vehicles, or on foot, contested that characterization.
One soldier told AFP: "We didn't hear anything about an order to pull out. We only found out about it when our heavy armor started leaving."
Correspondents saw the bodies of at least 13 soldiers at the local morgue after days of ferocious street-to-street battles.
Basurin said more than 3,000 Ukrainian servicemen were killed during the "Debaltseve operation" and said more than 300 soldiers were taken prisoner.
Ukrainian officials admitted that some troops had fallen into rebel hands but would not say how many.
Amnesty International has expressed concern about the treatment of the prisoners, citing evidence of brutality by both sides towards captives.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted the rebels' actions in Debaltseve had not violated the cease-fire because it was encircled by rebel forces at the time of the agreement, something Kyiv rejects.
But the rebel advance, which defied the cease-fire brokered in Minsk by Germany and France, has been widely condemned.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said "the refusal of the separatists to respect the cease-fire" threatened the peace agreement.
Stoltenberg also said “Russian forces, artillery, and air defense units as well as command and control elements are still active in Ukraine.”
He urged Russia to end its support for the separatists and withdraw its forces and military equipment from eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of sending in troops and weapons to spearhead the assault on Debaltseve, something Moscow denies.
The White House said Russia has failed to live up to terms of the deal and is “at risk of greater costs” such as further sanctions.
The U.S. State Department said it does not consider the cease-fire “dead,” but expressed concern about ongoing violence.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on February 18 urged Moscow to stop attacks by Russian troops and separatist fighters against Ukrainian government troops.
In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert described the military actions of the separatists in Debaltseve as a "major violation" of the latest truce deal and a "heavy strain" on hopes for peace.
French government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said his country would do "everything to keep the agreement alive."
The European Union's foreign affairs chief, Federica Mogherini, condemned the separatist offensive against the town as a "clear violation" of the cease-fire.
In London, the British government has released photos of what it describes as Russia’s most advanced antiaircraft artillery being operated in eastern Ukraine -- the truck-mounted SA-22 surface-to-air missile system.
Britain’s Foreign Office said on February 18 that the photographs of the SA-22 -- also known as the Pantsir-S1 -- are further evidence that Russia’s military is directly supporting separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine.
The weaponry is not operated by Ukrainian forces and could not have been seized by separatists from Ukraine’s military.
A timeline on the photos show the weapons in Shakhtarsk on January 24 and February 5 as well as in Dontesk on February 4.