Ukraine says some soldiers taken prisoner in Debaltseve

LUHANSKE, Ukraine — Several Ukrainian government soldiers have been ambushed and taken prisoners in Debaltseve, the defence ministry said Tuesday, but denied rebel claims that they have seized control of the key transportation hub.

The ministry said street fighting continued in Debaltseve, which has been the epicentre of fighting in the past two weeks. It did not say how many soldiers had been seized in the ambush.

The Ukrainian presidential office earlier Tuesday called on the European Union and NATO to condemn the Russia-backed rebels for violating the ceasefire brokered by European leaders last week.

Russian news agencies quoted Valery Chaly, chief of the Ukrainian presidential administration, as saying that Kiev wants the EU and NATO to "resolutely condemn" the separatists for violating the deals.

The war in eastern Ukraine has already killed more than 5,600 people and displaced more than a million, the United Nations said on Monday. It has also left the country's industrial heartland in ruins.

The government troops and rebels faced a deadline Tuesday to start pulling back heavy weapons from the frontline.

Rebel commander Vladimir Kononov said on Russian television that most of Debaltseve was under their control and urged the Ukrainian troops to surrender.

"Their only choice is to leave behind weaponry, lay down arms and surrender," he said.

The announcement by the rebels came after fierce fighting that appeared to be focused on Debaltseve. Both sides in the conflict claim the town is on their side of the ceasefire line. The issue was not resolved under the ceasefire agreement negotiated last week by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France.

Also Tuesday, a deadline passed under the agreement for both sides to begin pulling back weaponry from the front line.

The rebels said they were about to begin withdrawing their big guns on some sections of the frontline. A rebel military official, Eduard Basurin, announced in a televised briefing that they "will take the initiative" and begin to pull back heavy weaponry from the frontline. He did not provide a timeline for this.

The Ukrainian government, however, insisted on a comprehensive ceasefire before pulling back its weaponry.

Associated Press reporters saw artillery rounds fired Tuesday from Ukrainian government positions at rebel positions around Debaltseve. Sustained shelling was heard in the area all morning, some coming from Grad rocket launchers.

Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters Tuesday that the separatists continued to attack government positions overnight around Debaltseve and that the pullout hinged on the ceasefire being fully observed. He said at least five troops were killed and nine injured in the past 24 hours in the war zone.

The ceasefire deal, which was brokered by European leaders last week and went into effect early Sunday, specifies the pullout begins on the second day after the parties stop fighting. This condition has not been met, Lysenko said.

"As soon as the fire ceases... we will be ready to begin the withdrawal," he said.

Fighting has stopped or subsided in some parts of war-torn eastern Ukraine, however. Basurin said Tuesday they separatists had not seen any violations of the ceasefire in the area around the rebel stronghold of Donetsk since 8:00pm Monday.

Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told a briefing in Geneva on Tuesday that the UN is "alarmed" by reports of continued shelling in the areas and have not yet been able to get reliable information on the casualties there and the wellbeing of civilians.

"It is unclear how many civilians are still there," he said. "We are particularly concerned about the civilians trapped in the area — we believe there may be a few thousand hiding in cellars, struggling to get food, water and other basic necessities."