Rebels celebrate as Ukraine forces pull out of Debaltseve

DEBALTSEVE, Ukraine: Pro-Russian rebels, many of them Cossacks, roamed the streets of Debaltseve on Thursday, a day after Ukrainian forces began withdrawing from the besieged town. The mood was celebratory, with fighters laughing, hugging each other and posing for photos.
The Ukrainian Army said 90 troops had been captured and 82 were still missing after the rebels seized the strategic town of Debaltseve, in violation of the cease-fire which came into force after midnight Sunday.
The seizure of the town, a transport hub sandwiched between the rebel strongholds of Donetsk and Lugansk, sent government troops into retreat and has been the biggest violation of the cease-fire.
The insurgents claimed to have captured as many as 300 government soldiers.
One of the rebel leaders, Alexander Zakharchenko, alleged that 3,000 to 3,500 troops died in the assault, although such casualty counts on both sides are often greatly exaggerated for propaganda effect. “Let Kiev take their dead,” he said.
The leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia pledged on Thursday to try to save a tattered cease-fire in eastern Ukraine despite violations — including the storming of a key town by rebels. As the leaders condemned the fighting and urged both sides to observe the truce, there was strident opposition from the separatists and Moscow to a plea from Ukraine for international peacekeepers to enforce the cease-fire.
Kiev’s defeat in Debaltseve, which has had many Ukrainians questioning the competence of their army leaders, prompted Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to appeal late Wednesday for international peacekeepers to be deployed in the east.
Russia and the rebels immediately voiced fierce opposition to such a move, saying it would “destroy” the truce agreements struck in the Belarus capital Minsk.
But Poroshenko again raised the idea in a four-way telephone conversation Thursday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He found little apparent support, however, with none of the others mentioning it in statements from their offices.
Instead, the four called for the implementation of the full package of measures agreed in Minsk, including a full cease-fire, withdrawal of heavy weapons and the release of prisoners, according to the French presidency. A statement said foreign ministers from the four countries would speak later Thursday to define how the cease-fire was being implemented. The OSCE has complained that the rebels have for days been blocking its team from entering Debaltseve.