This is what was reported in RT: Clashes continue around Debaltsevo, a city contested by Kievs forces and Ukrainian anti-government troops. Fighting goes on there even as ceasefire is mostly observed in other parts of the conflict zone. The rebels insist that Debaltsevo has been encircled and that their opponents should lay down their arms and leave it immediately. Kiev claims that the city is its advance stronghold and must remain under its control under the Minsk agreement. http://rt.com/news/232983-ukraine-ceasefire-concrete-measures/ According to the latest from Fort Russ it's all over and the Ukrainian troops in the cauldron are surrendering in the hundreds. Some of those surrendering are punitive troops who have committed the worse atrocities on Russian civilians in the cities taken over by Kiev. If they surrender peacefully and lay down their arms, they are given hot meals and medical care if need be. According to Gross, the deputy commander of the 25th Kievan Rus battalion located near Debaltsevo, there is street fighting in the city against 'Russian' soldiers and Kadyrovites (Chechnyans). I love the way the heroic Ukraine commanders always disappear when the going gets tough, leaving the men leaderless and to fend for themselves. There is street fighting in Debaltsevo. The enemy is using Russian Federation [sic] special operations units and Kadyrovites [sic] to storm Debaltsevo. They control 90% of it. Our forces are defending strongpoints. The sector HQ and the sector commander have abandoned us, they do not control the situation, they dont know where are troops are, said Gross. He noted that his troops need immediate help. They tried to reach the General Staff several times, but there has been no reaction. Our troops are facing annihilation, said the deputy battalion commander. They are searching for the sector commander. Nobody knows where he is, he added. We note that earlier the General Staff announced there is fighting in the streets of Debaltsevo, and that the terrorists [sic] are not allowing OSCE observers to reach the town. Part of the town was captured by the bandits [sic]. The counter-terrorist [sic] operation HQ spokesperson Anatoliy Stelmakh said that the militants [sic] have captured several buildings in Debaltsevo.
Debaltsevo is a territory which is good for attacking Donetsk. Besides, it is a transportation link between Donetsk and Lugansk. For those who want to continue the war Debaltsevo is a favourable spot which is worthy of seuring control. This winter rebels drove ukrainian army back. Of 8-10 thousand troops which were in Debaltsevo in the beginning only 2-3 thousand were left. The rest retreated to the north. At the same time rebels don't have enough of soldiers and machinery in order to complete encircling with powerful inner and outer defense lines. So they don't cover the road to Debaltsevo, which can be attacked from northern position of ukrainian artillery. Instead the road is well blocked with rebel artilery fire. This is the situation which took place by the time of Minsk negotiations. At these negotiations Poroshenko told that Debaltsevo is well-controlled by ukrainian soldiers and belongs to them. The rebels were wure that as long as it is encircled - it belongs to them and ukrainians can retreat from the territories unarmed. But as long as ukrainian junta and guys who are in control of it don't want any peace - this precedent would be used to ignore Minsk negotiations. (It looks that Merkel wouldn't get its nobel prize for peace and Obama would keep the leadership!) At the moment it is possible that ukrainians would attack from the north trying to unblock troops in Debaltsevo. The control there is after the rebels. But a lot of soldiers can die tonight in order to prevent any possibility of peace...
Truth about situation in Ukraine added 4 new photos. 4 hrs · Debaltsevo, Feb 17 72 Ukraininan soldiers are reported to surrender to the NAF in the town of Debaltsevo today. https://www.facebook.com/TruthfromUkraine?fref=pb&hc_location=profile_browser
Is this the guy who ran out on his men? "Pro-Kiev Commander: 'We Will Burn Down Crimea, With All Its Residents' © Sputnik/ Evgeny Kotenko Europe 18:19 17.02.2015(updated 19:29 17.02.2015) 8162861 You can take the leader out of his battalion, but you can't take the battalion out of its leader: a Ukrainian MP has issued outrageous threats against Crimea and threatened to torch its population. The militantly pro-Ukrainian Dnipro Battalion leader- turned-MP Yuri Bereza has promised to "burn down Crimea, with all of its residents if needed," vociferously refusing to “liberate the peninsula in a somewhat cultural manner.” The saber-rattling politician, did not specify who might need the people to be burnt and why Yury Bereza in a live broadcast on the Ukrainian national TV channel 1+1. © Photo: Taken from YouTube Yury Bereza in a live broadcast on the Ukrainian national TV channel 1+1. The threat was voiced in a live broadcast on the Ukrainian national TV channel 1+1. Bereza has already distinguished himself following the scandal over the false photos illustrating an alleged Russian military presence in Ukraine on German TV. A recent news segment which aired on Germany's federal ZDF channel showed the alleged movement of Russian tanks and missile systems into eastern Ukraine, illustrating the news with the image taken several years earlier, in 2009, and in South Ossetia, not Ukraine. Russian tanks in South Ossetia © Twitter/@NovorossiaPress German TV Channel in Trouble After Being Caught in Ukraine War Lie The politician first called it “Russian intrigues”, but then opted to accredit it to tabloids. Earlier in November Bereza pledged his battalion was ready to "intrude" into Russia, to “break into it with reconnaissance detachments and sabotage groups”. The threats were voice in a live broadcast of the 'Shuster Live' TV show. The Dnipro Battalion is based in Dnipropetrovsk, which is located near the Donetsk region. It was established in April 2014 to combat pro-independent fighters and is reportedly partially funded by billionaire oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi, and is thus nicknamed Kolomoyskyi's battallion. Read more: http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150217/1018385027.html#ixzz3S2NiZhk9
Porko already admitted his troops are leaving Debaltsevo, "planned and organized" retreat: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ukraine-troops-retreat-from-key-town/ar-BBhHE59 This article does not mention that they left all their weapons to Russians.
Right. Today Ukrainian troops unlikely can find exit from Debaltsevo with weapon. See article about last success attempt two days before ceasefire. Vise News: Escape from Debaltseve: How One Convoy Made It Out of Ukraine's Besieged City
