Ukraine calls for deployment of UN peacekeepers

Ukraine has asked the United Nations to deploy peacekeepers to the east of the country to ensure a ceasefire is enforced, after Kiev withdrew its troops from the strategic town of Debaltseve.

Rebel tanks at a checkpoint on the road from Vuhlehirsk to Debaltseve on February 18. Photo: Reuters

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said yesterday that UN peacekeepers would help ensure security "in a situation where peace commitments are not respected", at an emergency security meeting.

Mr Poroshenko's proposal was approved by Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council at an emergency meeting yesterday. "The issue was discussed, we decided to appeal to the UN and the EU about establishing a peacekeeping and security operation in Ukraine," the BBC quoted council secretary Olexander Turchynov as telling reporters.

The move comes after President Poroshenko said nearly 2,500 Ukrainian troops had left Debaltseve on Tuesday, following heavy fighting between the two sides. The separatists' push into the town, despite a ceasefire agreed last week, has been widely condemned. However, rebel leaders have said Debaltseve is not part of the areas covered by the agreement.

Mr Poroshenko said the withdrawal was organised, but at least six soldiers had been killed and more than 100 wounded. A senior Ukrainian military official had earlier said 22 Kiev soldiers had died in Debaltseve in the past three days. Rebels claimed a much higher number of government soldiers had been killed, but Kiev denied the figures.

Rebel spokesman Eduard Basurin said Debaltseve was now "completely under the control" of the separatists, adding that they were "neutralising" some "scattered" resistance. He claimed more than 300 government soldiers had been taken prisoner. Kiev admitted some soldiers were being held by the separatists.

The ceasefire, which came into effect on February 15, has been widely observed elsewhere in eastern Ukraine. Both sides are said to have withdrawn some heavy weapons. However, staff from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which monitors the ceasefire, have been unable to enter Debaltseve.

According to Vnexpress