LUHANSKE, Ukraine: Russia-backed separatists say they have gained control of a key rail hub in eastern Ukraine.

Sources quoted the rebel’s so-called Defense Ministry as saying Tuesday that their forces have pushed government troops out of Debaltseve and are now controlling a large part of it.

Fierce fighting on Tuesday, two days after a cease-fire was announced for eastern Ukraine, appeared to be focused on Debaltseve, which both sides claim is on their side of the cease-fire line.

Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed rebels faced a deadline Tuesday to start pulling back heavy weapons from the front line in eastern Ukraine, but Associated Press reporters saw no signs of it on the ground.

At least five troops were killed and nine injured in the past 24 hours in the war zone.

The cease-fire deal, brokered by European leaders last week, specifies the pullout begin 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.

Washington is weighing the possibility of providing direct arms to the Ukrainian military.

The war in eastern Ukraine has already killed more than 5,600 people and displaced more than a million, according to UN figures issued Monday. It has also left the country’s industrial heartland in ruins.

Fighting has stopped or subsided in some parts of war-torn eastern Ukraine, however. Rebel mouthpiece the Donetsk News Agency quoted rebel officials saying Tuesday they had not seen any violations of the cease-fire in their area since 8 p.m. Monday.

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.

Debaltseve is a government-held town surrounded by rebel forces, and both sides claim it should be on their side of the cease-fire line. The issue was not resolved under a cease-fire agreement negotiated last week by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France.