Ceasefire holding in Ukraine - for the most part
A ceasefire between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian government troops appeared to be largely holding in eastern Ukraine, a day after shelling and clashes rattled nerves and imperilled the peace deal.
In a surprise announcement, the regional administration of Donetsk said Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko was travelling to the embattled coastal city of Mariupol.
That trip would be a symbolic show of strength in a strategic government-held area that has come under rebel fire in recent days, and proves Kiev is unlikely to willingly loosen what remains of its grip over the rebellious east.
The city council of Donetsk said there had been no reported casualties overnight and it expected public transport to be running on Tuesday. No shelling or explosions were heard overnight in central Donetsk.
Colonel Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s National Security Council, told reporters there had been about half a dozen rebel violations of the ceasefire. But he said no servicemen had been killed in the past day and rebel forces had stopped using heavy artillery, only mortar and rifle fire.
“That’s a big achievement,” he said. “We understand that the ceasefire imposes some discipline to our enemies and also allows our military to bring its reserves closer.”
A successful ceasefire would be a landmark achievement for all sides in a conflict that has dragged on for nearly five months and claimed at least 3,000 lives, according to a UN estimate issued on Monday.
But despite the ceasefire, there has been little agreement between Kiev and the separatist rebels on a political settlement that would permanently end the standoff in eastern Ukraine.
The south east has been a key hotspot in the last two weeks. The area around Mariupol had remained relatively untouched by violence until then, when rebel forces pushed towards the city, shelling the city’s outskirts as recently as Saturday.
The port is strategically located on the Sea of Azov coast, raising fears that if it fell, Moscow-backed rebels could link up mainland Russia with Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia in March.
In other developments, 15 Ukrainian soldiers were released by rebel forces, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported. Mr Lysenko said a prisoner exchange with the rebels was “task No 1” for the government during the ceasefire.
The ceasefire was imposed late on Friday but was thrown into peril over the weekend by the shelling of Mariupol and fighting near the airport of the rebel-held city of Donetsk. A previous 10-day ceasefire in June was riddled by reports of violations on both sides.
