Earlier this month, a cease-fire agreement was signed in Minsk, Belarus, after long talks between leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France. Ukrainian government troops and rebel forces in Eastern Ukraine agreed to cease hostilities by February 15 and withdraw heavy weapons at least 30 miles from the agreed-upon buffer zone stretching roughly from Luhansk to Mariupol. Heavy fighting ensued right before the deadline, and sporadic violence continues even now, more than a week later. Some Ukrainian forces claim they are unable to withdraw, as the Russian-backed rebels are still shelling their positions. Rebels captured the small town of Debaltseve, a strategically important rail hub, just as the cease-fire was set to begin. There is positive movement, however, as some prisoner exchanges have taken place and many weapons have been withdrawn. According to the terms of the Minsk agreement, both sides have until the end of the month to fully withdraw—then, if the truce holds, comes the lengthy task of negotiation and rebuilding the breakaway region, physically, politically, and socially.
- A Russian-backed rebel stands in a street junction in Debaltseve, Ukraine, on February 20, 2015. After weeks of relentless fighting, the embattled Ukrainian rail hub of Debaltseve fell Wednesday to the separatists, who hoisted a flag in triumph over the town. The Ukrainian president confirmed that he had ordered troops to pull out, and the rebels reported taking hundreds of soldiers captive.Vadim Ghirda/AP
- A truck belonging to the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic army moves over a partially destroyed bridge in the town of Debaltseve on February 22, 2015. Pro-Moscow rebels said they would start to withdraw heavy weapons from the front line in eastern Ukraine on Sunday but the government in Kiev said armored columns had crossed the border from Russia to reinforce the separatists.Baz Ratner/Reuters
- Fighters of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic walk past a destroyed Ukrainian army armored personnel carrier in the town of Vuhlehirsk, about 10 km (six miles) to the west of Debaltseve, on February 16, 2015.Baz Ratner/Reuters
- Destroyed military equipment litters the road on February 20, 2015 in Debaltseve, Ukraine. Ukrainian forces withdrew from the strategic and hard-fought town after being effectively surrounded by pro-Russian rebels, though fighting has caused widespread destruction.Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images
- Ukrainian prisoners of war wait in line before a prisoner exchange, near Zholobok, Ukraine, on February 21, 2015. Ukrainian military and separatist representatives exchanged dozens of prisoners under cover of darkness at a remote frontline location, kicking off a process intended to usher in peace to the conflict-ridden east. Ukrainian troops and rebels were exchanged, according to a separatist official overseeing the prisoner swap at a no man's land location near the village of Zholobok, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of the rebel-held city Luhansk.Vadim Ghirda/AP
- A member of the medical staff salvages items from among the rubble of a destroyed clinic where she had worked in the village of Opytne on February 15, 2015 near Artemivsk in the Donetsk region controlled by Ukrainian forces, a day after the clinic was destroyed during shelling by pro-Russian rebels.Petro Zadorozhnyy/AFP/Getty Images
- Ammunition abandoned by retreating Ukrainian forces lies on the road near the village of Lohvynove, outside Debaltseve, on February 22, 2015, on the edge of the territory controlled by Russia-backed separatists.Vadim Ghirda/AP
- Cossack commander Nikolai Kozitsyn, foreground, a Russian national known to his fellow rebel fighters by the nom de guerre "Daddy," walks through a crossroads near Debaltseve on Thursday, February 19, 2015. The town was captured by Russian-backed separatists after weeks of bitter battles around the area.Peter Leonard/AP
- A pro-Russian separatist walks past the snow-covered body of a Ukrainian serviceman who was killed in battle with the armed forces of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, in the town of Vuhlehirsk, eastern Ukraine, on February 10, 2015.Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
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