KIEV
Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine is clear of Ukrainian soldiers, according to the Ukrainian presidency.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's spokesman, Svyatoslav Tseholko said in a written statement Thursday that the last Ukrainian army unit commander had left Debaltseve, the country’s eastern railway hub, following the latest clashes that occurred despite a cease-fire signed in Minsk on Feb. 12.
According to Tseholko, the commander phoned Poroshenko and informed him he was the last to withdraw from Debaltseve, having previously monitored the withdrawal of troops.
Poroshenko thanked the commander for his courage, said the statement.
Ukraine's Counterterrorism Center, which manages operations against separatists, also issued a statement, saying Ukrainian troops had completely withdrawn from Debaltseve as well as the nearby villages of Chernukhin, Nikyshyne, Redkodub and Mius.
Almost 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers have left the eastern city since Tuesday. Kiev stated Thursday that at least 22 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and more than 150 were injured in clashes in Debaltseve. Another 90 soldiers were taken hostage by separatists, while another 82 were claimed missing.
Fighting continues near Mariupol
Fresh fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces was reported near the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Friday.
Kyiv military spokesman Anatoliy Stelmakh said pro-Russian separatists attacked the village of Shyrokyne on the outskirts of Mariupol with heavy shelling.
Local officials in government-held territory said the separatists had also fired mortars at another town further south of Debaltseve. The Ukrainian government expressed concern the rebels were massing for an assault on Mariupol itself.
According to the cease-fire, both sides were supposed to withdraw heavy weapons in eastern Ukraine beginning Tuesday, but the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which monitors the fighting, said Thursday they had not seen either side doing so.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Thursday the U.S. "condemns continuing attacks by Russian-backed separatists in and around Debaltseve, Mariupol and other locations in eastern Ukraine which violate the cease-fire and flout the Minsk agreements."
“We call on Russia and the separatists it backs to stop their attacks immediately, withdraw heavy weapons, halt the flow of fighters and equipment from Russia into Ukraine," Psaki added.
The war in eastern Ukraine has killed more than 5,000 people and forced over a million from their homes.
Despite the cease-fire agreement following marathon talks between the leaders of Germany, Ukraine, Russia and France in Minsk last Thursday, separatist leaders continued their military assault on Debaltseve, claiming that it was their own territory and not covered by the agreement.
