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 There is positive movement, however, as some prisoner exchanges have taken place and many weapons have been withdrawn.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.
Watching a Shaky Cease-Fire in Ukraine
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Read moreA 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. #
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Read moreA 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. #
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Read moreFighters 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. #
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Read moreA gas pipe burns after being struck by shelling on February 17, 2015, in Myronivskyi, Ukraine. #
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Read moreA car drives past a damaged sign with the name of the city of Debaltseve on February 20, 2015. #
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Read moreA Russian-backed rebel rests as a dog eats from a can in Debaltseve, Ukraine, on February 20, 2015. #
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Read morePro-Russian rebels stationed in the eastern Ukrainian city of Gorlivka, Donetsk region, launch rockets from Grad launch vehicles on February 18, 2015. #
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Read moreDestroyed 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. #
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Read moreCoffins with bodies of killed Ukrainian soldiers rest outside a morgue in Artemivsk, on February 18, 2015. #
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Read moreBuildings damaged by fighting are pictured in the village of Nikishine, southeast of Debaltseve, on February 17, 2015. #
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Read moreA view of the deserted road stretching away from the town of Artemivsk, Ukraine, looking south towards Debaltseve, which is about 25 km away, on February 16, 2015. #
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Read moreUkrainian 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. #
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Read moreA horse drinks water from a puddle on a road in Debaltseve on February 20, 2015. #
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Read moreCrosses marked only with numbers stand on the graves of unknown pro-Russian separatists at a cemetery in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on February 16, 2015. #
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Read moreA girl plays on a swing in front of a building damaged by fighting in the city of Debaltseve, on February 20, 2015. #
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Read moreA part of a roof on fire falls on a firefighter as he extinguishes a building after shelling in Artemivsk, Ukraine, on February 14, 2015. #
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Read moreUkrainian servicemen ride self-propelled howitzers near Artemivsk on February 21, 2015. #
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Read moreA 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. #
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Read moreAmmunition 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. #
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Read moreThe body of a Ukrainian serviceman lies near a destroyed tank on the position near the eastern Ukrainian city of Debaltseve on February 20, 2015. #
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Read moreThe remains of a rocket lie outside a damaged apartment building in Debaltseve, Ukraine, on February 20, 2015. #
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Read moreRussian-backed separatists drive a convoy of armored vehicles in Vuhlehirsk, near Debaltseve, on February 22, 2015. #
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Read moreUkrainian government soldiers ride on a vehicle on the road between the towns of Dabeltseve and Artemivsk on February 14, 2015. #
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Read moreCossack 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. #
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Read moreA wounded Ukrainian soldier looks through a window as he arrives at a hospital in Artemivsk on February 18, 2015. #
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Read moreShattered trees at a destroyed position of Ukrainian forces near Debaltseve on February 20, 2015. #
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Read moreA 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. #
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Read moreUkrainian servicemen who fought in Debaltseve sit in a bus before leaving for home, near Artemivsk, on February 19, 2015. #
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Read moreA child sits inside a makeshift bomb shelter in Debaltseve on February 22, 2015. #
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Read moreA Ukrainian serviceman stands on the road outside Artemivsk, Ukraine, after pulling out of Debaltseve on February 18, 2015. #
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