Ukraine sticks to ceasefire deal – withdraws heavy weapons from war zones

#ukraineceasefire #Minsk #VladimirPutin #Ukraine #Kharkiv #Mariupol In keeping with the ceasefire accord, Ukrainian forces have started the process of withdrawing its heavy weapons from the warzones as agreed with the pro-Russian separatist rebels. This has been confirmed by a military spokesman and reported in news.sky.com dated 22 February 2015.
Under the terms of the peace agreement signed in Minsk there was to be an exchange of all prisoners as well as a cessation of hostilities – so far, only 139 Ukrainian soldiers and 52 rebels have been swapped.
However, there appears to be no corresponding gesture from the other side because convoys of armored vehicles have been tracked entering Ukraine from Russia. Also, attacks from pro-Russia rebels have been continuing near the village of Shyrokyne which is close to Mariupol. To add to the confusion, at least two people have been killed and 15 others wounded flowing the throwing of an "unknown explosive device" from a car in the government-controlled city of Kharkiv.
The Interior Ministry of Ukraine considers this as an act of terrorism and has taken place during a peace march to mark one year since former president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power. The authorities have detained some suspects in this regard.
In this respect, Air Chief Marshal Lord Stirrup has accused President Vladimir Putin of running a ‘gangster regime’ and has also remarked that UK should think on whether it should supply weapons to Ukraine.