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Activist Post
February 20, 2015
The fragile ceasefire deal constructed by Russia, France, Germany, and the reluctant Ukrainian Fascist government appears to be holding itself together even after fighting in the contested city of Debaltseve continued days after the deadline for an end to active hostilities had passed.
Late as it may be, the sound of shelling and gunfire was largely silenced in Debaltseve as Ukrainian Fascist forces began exiting the city – whether willingly or otherwise.
The separatist forces have claimed that the Ukrainian forces stationed in Debaltseve had finally begun the process of surrendering en masse. Eduard Basurin, a military spokesman for the separatists, confirmed the taking of 300 Ukrainian military soldiers as prisoner while another senior official in the Donetsk People’s Republic stated that Ukrainian soldiers were “laying down their arms‘in their hundreds.’”
The Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, however, has downplayed the retreat, stating that he had ordered a complete withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Debaltseve as a means to keep to the terms of the ceasefire agreement. Poroshenko made no mention of why he made these orders two days after the deadline.
Poroshenko said, “We stated and proved that Debaltsevo was under our control and that there was no encirclement. Our units withdrew according to plan in an organized manner. They took military hardware with them – tanks, APCs, artillery pieces, tow-tracks, cars.” He also stated that Kiev forces had been dealing a great deal of damage to the separatist forces over the last several days, although all available evidence seems to contradict this claim.
DPR spokesman, Denis Pushilin disagreed, however, stating that Kiev troops are not evacuating but surrendering. “Most of these formations, which Poroshenko referred to, were defeated by the militia forces, and some of these units surrendered or are surrendering now,” Pushilin said.
