Ukrainian forces, rebels evacuate war-torn town of Debaltseve
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In the freezing, muddy winter that plagues eastern Ukraine, dozens of buses rolled down a highway Friday, bringing a glimmer of hope to those trapped for weeks in the crossfire of a relentless war.
The government-held town of Debaltseve, a key railway junction, has been the epicentre of recent battles between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian government troops. For two weeks, the town has been pounded by intense shelling that knocked out power, heat and running water in the dead of winter.
Separatist fighters have made advances, taking Vuhlehirsk, a rural settlement to the west, as they sought to capture Debaltseve, which links by rail their two main strongholds, the eastern cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.
On Friday, in a move not seen before in this war, the two sides briefly ceased hostilities to jointly evacuate the few thousand civilian residents still remaining. Dozens of buses travelled in convoys to Debaltseve from both rebel and government territory to ferry locals away from danger.
"We agreed with the Ukrainian authorities that this would be done jointly, to give people the right to choose to go to the Ukrainian side or to go to Donetsk," Daria Morozova, a separatist official.
Rebels appear to control town
Despite earlier claims by Ukraine, the town of Vuhlehirsk, 10 kilometres from Debaltseve, appeared Friday to be fully under the control of separatist forces. A three-storey building on the main square was completely burned out, a gaping hole in its facade.
Associated Press journalists saw half a dozen destroyed armoured vehicles in nearby areas, a testimony to the area's intense battles.
It took a leap of faith and some gritty manual labour to even get the evacuation convoys rolling in the heavy mist that enveloped the area Friday.
Rebel-organized buses had to stop along the road for several minutes after coming across concrete blocks placed there by Ukrainian forces to halt advancing tanks.
After the obstacles were towed out of place by a car belonging to monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a Ukrainian armoured personnel carrier came from the opposite direction. A soldier quickly dismounted and nervously trained his rifle toward nearby fields.
More Ukrainian military trucks and armoured vehicles were parked on the artillery-riddled outskirts of Debaltseve. A bulldozer bore an inscription "Putin is a piece of crap," sprayed with white paint.
Town population dwindles
Some residents appeared unaware that the evacuation was to take place until the buses arrived, saying they could not get family members to the collection point in time. Many looked exhausted.
Alexander Klimenko, deputy head of the Donetsk regional government loyal to Kyiv, estimated that 3,000 people still remained in Debaltseve out of its previous 25,000 residents.
Eduard Basurin, a rebel spokesman, said about 1,000 civilians were expected to be removed Friday but Moroza later told the AP that only about 50 people left on the rebels' 20-odd buses.
One man, who gave his name only as Sergei, said he couldn't leave as he had nowhere to resettle with his friendly blond Labrador, Charlie.
At one municipal building, those intending to remain in Debaltseve despite the evacuation and the imminent possibility of renewed shelling collected plastic bags stuffed with rice, noodles, canned food, oil and other basic goods.
Arguments broke out at the food handout line. One woman complained that labels showed the canned food had expired several years ago.
Shortly after the bus convoys arrived, the Ukrainian army began firing outgoing artillery from positions near the centre of town. Groups of Ukrainian military, separatists and international observers huddled to the side of the square where the food was being handed out, unfazed by the sound of shelling.
"So when are the Americans going to send us some tanks?" National Guard officer Ilya Kiva asked AP reporters.
To the west, artillery duels between rebels and government forces still rumbled through Donetsk, hitting several places including a cafe.
More than 5,300 people have been killed since April, when the separatist insurgency flared in eastern Ukraine following Russia's annexation of Crimea.