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| Ukraine Announces a Growing List of Casualties From Debaltseve Retreat | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| MOSCOW — The Ukrainian military on Thursday said that the casualties in Debaltseve were substantially worse than initially announced, with at least 13 soldiers killed, 157 wounded, more than 90 captured and at least 82 missing. Witnesses said the number of dead would likely grow considerably higher. | |
| Late Wednesday, the office of President Petro O. Poroshenko had said that at least six soldiers had been killed and 100 wounded in the hurried retreat from Debaltseve, a strategically important junction in eastern Ukraine, now firmly in the hands of pro-Russian rebels. The town fell after several days of intense fighting that continued after a cease-fire was to have taken effect at midnight Saturday. | |
| In a statement defending his decision to order the withdrawal, Mr. Poroshenko said that 2,475 soldiers were safely pulled out, along with 200 military vehicles. Late Wednesday, Mr. Poroshenko urged the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force — an idea swiftly rejected by Russia. | |
| The Ukrainian military said it had appealed to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for help in locating the missing soldiers. | |
| With the accord they brokered last week to end the conflict seemingly in tatters, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France spoke by telephone on Thursday in an effort to find a way to impose an elusive truce. | |
| None of the provisions of the peace accord, forged during an overnight negotiating session in Minsk, Belarus, have yet been carried out in line with the terms and timetable. | None of the provisions of the peace accord, forged during an overnight negotiating session in Minsk, Belarus, have yet been carried out in line with the terms and timetable. |
| There has been no halt in fighting, with reports of battles not just in Debaltseve but throughout the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. A deadline on Tuesday for beginning the withdrawal of heavy weaponry came and went, with artillery still booming. | There has been no halt in fighting, with reports of battles not just in Debaltseve but throughout the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. A deadline on Tuesday for beginning the withdrawal of heavy weaponry came and went, with artillery still booming. |
| In the city of Artemivsk, where Ukrainian soldiers gathered after their retreat from Debaltseve, the harrowing human toll from the recent days of fighting was on vivid display. | |
| Many soldiers were in a demoralized and drunken state. Shellshocked soldiers from the battle in Debaltseve wandered the streets through the day Wednesday, before beginning to drink heavily. | |
| By Wednesday evening, gunshots were ringing out on the central square. One man stood, swaying, on the sidewalk mumbling to himself. Soldiers who had escaped from Debaltseve after weeks of shelling were commandeering taxi cabs without payment. It was not clear that all of them had been given places to sleep, and one group stood silently, shivering on a street outside the Hotel Ukraine. | |
| And at Biblios, an upscale restaurant in Artemivsk, soldiers staggered about in the dining room, ordering brandy for which they had no money to pay, and then firing shots into the ceiling as other guests quietly fled the premises. | |
| At a news conference in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, Michael Bociurkiw, a spokesman for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s special monitoring mission in Ukraine, read a long list of violations of the cease-fire agreement throughout eastern Ukraine, most of them involving artillery fire. | |
| Among the violations he cited were numerous instances of mortar shelling east of the coastal city of Mariupol. | |
| Mr. Bociurkiw complained that monitors had been unable to reach Debaltseve because they were denied access by the separatist forces controlling the town, and that monitors believed there were many civilians trapped there “in dire conditions.” | |
| “The cease-fire has to be unconditional, there’s no exceptions,” he said. “As far as the special monitoring mission is concerned, we expect unfettered and safe and secure access.” | |
| He added that the combatants should not pick and choose only those provisions of the cease-fire accord they wish to fulfill. “The Minsk documents are not a shopping list,” he said. “It’s one integrated whole.” | |
| Mr. Bociurkiw also read from a statement by the chief of the monitoring mission, Ertugrul Apakan, a Turkish diplomat, who said he was “profoundly disturbed” by the events at Debaltseve, especially civilian casualties, adding, that he “condemned any attempts to create new facts on the ground and so to change the basis on which the latest package of Minsk measures were agreed on.” | |
| On the telephone call on Thursday, Mr. Poroshenko’s office said that he had told his counterparts — Angela Merkel of Germany, François Hollande of France and Vladimir V. Putin of Russia — “Do not pretend that what happened in Debaltseve corresponds to the Minsk arrangements.” | |
| His comments, however, only highlighted how Mr. Poroshenko and Mr. Putin have continued to view the conflict through vastly different lenses and often with completely contradictory assessments of the facts on the ground. | His comments, however, only highlighted how Mr. Poroshenko and Mr. Putin have continued to view the conflict through vastly different lenses and often with completely contradictory assessments of the facts on the ground. |
| Although hours were spent in Minsk discussing the situation in Debaltseve, no agreement had been reached on what to do about the continuing siege of the town, which lies on a main highway between the cities of Luhansk and Donetsk, regional capitals and main separatist strongholds. | Although hours were spent in Minsk discussing the situation in Debaltseve, no agreement had been reached on what to do about the continuing siege of the town, which lies on a main highway between the cities of Luhansk and Donetsk, regional capitals and main separatist strongholds. |
| Separatist leaders had said that they did not regard the cease-fire as applying to Debaltseve, and Mr. Putin in his public comments appeared to accept that view, suggesting during a visit to Budapest on Tuesday that Ukraine should accept its defeat at the hands of former miners and tractor drivers. Mr. Putin has consistently denied that Russian military forces have participated in battles in Ukraine. | Separatist leaders had said that they did not regard the cease-fire as applying to Debaltseve, and Mr. Putin in his public comments appeared to accept that view, suggesting during a visit to Budapest on Tuesday that Ukraine should accept its defeat at the hands of former miners and tractor drivers. Mr. Putin has consistently denied that Russian military forces have participated in battles in Ukraine. |
| The Kremlin, in a brief statement after Thursday’s call, offered a positive assessment of recent days. | The Kremlin, in a brief statement after Thursday’s call, offered a positive assessment of recent days. |
| “It was noted that the measures approved by the contact group in Minsk helped allow a reduction in the intensity of fighting in Donbass and reduced the number of civilian casualties,” it said, referring to the region of eastern Ukraine where the conflict has been concentrated. | “It was noted that the measures approved by the contact group in Minsk helped allow a reduction in the intensity of fighting in Donbass and reduced the number of civilian casualties,” it said, referring to the region of eastern Ukraine where the conflict has been concentrated. |
| The Kremlin said the leaders had agreed that the foreign ministers of the four countries would begin consultations “in the nearest future” about carrying out the terms of the cease-fire — a further indication of Russia’s view that the peace accord was still on track. “The leaders emphasized the need to secure a sustainable cease-fire,” the Kremlin added. | The Kremlin said the leaders had agreed that the foreign ministers of the four countries would begin consultations “in the nearest future” about carrying out the terms of the cease-fire — a further indication of Russia’s view that the peace accord was still on track. “The leaders emphasized the need to secure a sustainable cease-fire,” the Kremlin added. |
| Ukraine, in its statement, said there was agreement that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is supposed to monitor the truce, should be given full support. It also said that some verification had begun, including in the area of the Donetsk airport, and in the towns of Horlivka, Pervomaisk and Shyrokyne. | Ukraine, in its statement, said there was agreement that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is supposed to monitor the truce, should be given full support. It also said that some verification had begun, including in the area of the Donetsk airport, and in the towns of Horlivka, Pervomaisk and Shyrokyne. |
| Mr. Poroshenko also demanded the release of all prisoners, including Ukrainian soldiers captured in the area of Debaltseve. The Minsk accord had called for the release of prisoners held on each side, on a principle of “all for all.” The prisoner exchange was supposed to take place within two weeks after the pullback of heavy weapons. | Mr. Poroshenko also demanded the release of all prisoners, including Ukrainian soldiers captured in the area of Debaltseve. The Minsk accord had called for the release of prisoners held on each side, on a principle of “all for all.” The prisoner exchange was supposed to take place within two weeks after the pullback of heavy weapons. |
| For weeks after a failed truce agreement in September, the four leaders had issued positive statements even as fighting continued and the number of casualties increased, as if they might be able to impose the truce by force of will. | For weeks after a failed truce agreement in September, the four leaders had issued positive statements even as fighting continued and the number of casualties increased, as if they might be able to impose the truce by force of will. |
| It was not immediately clear if the battle for Debaltseve, with the number of dead and injured still not tallied, was a final tussle over where to draw the cease-fire line, or a clear sign that the war would persist despite the Minsk agreement. | It was not immediately clear if the battle for Debaltseve, with the number of dead and injured still not tallied, was a final tussle over where to draw the cease-fire line, or a clear sign that the war would persist despite the Minsk agreement. |
| Highlighting its control over Debaltseve, Russia said on Thursday that it was sending a convoy of humanitarian aid to the town. | Highlighting its control over Debaltseve, Russia said on Thursday that it was sending a convoy of humanitarian aid to the town. |