Fighting rages at flashpoint town amid few signs of Ukraine truce

Fierce fighting raged in Ukraine around the flashpoint town of Debaltseve on Tuesday, with pro-Russian rebels claiming to have pushed government forces out of the key transport hub. The clashes come as both sides seemingly ignore a cease-fire hammered out last week by Europe’s leaders and nominally in force since Sunday — the planned withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the conflict’s front line was also due to begin Tuesday, but there appeared to be little movement on the ground.

Meanwhile fighting focused on Debaltseve. The pro-separatist Donetsk News Agency quoted the rebel defense ministry as saying their forces had repelled government troops and were now controlling a large part of the city.

Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters earlier Tuesday that separatists continued to attack government positions around the town and that any pullback of heavy weaponry would hinge on the cease-fire being fully observed. He said at least five soldiers were killed and nine injured in the past 24 hours in the war zone.

The truce agreement 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.

The apparent failure to observe the cease-fire conditions sparked allegations from both sides. Kiev demanded that the West issue a 'tough' response against Russia over the broken truce. Russia's President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile called on the Ukrainian government to not stop its soldiers from laying down weapons.

The United Nations called on all parties involved to abide by the cease-fire, noting that violence was ongoing.

The war in eastern Ukraine has already killed more than 5,600 people and displaced more than a million, according to U.N. 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. The Donetsk News Agency quoted rebel officials saying Tuesday they had not seen any violations of the cease-fire in territory they control outright since 8 p.m. Monday.

But that appears not to be the case in Debaltseve, which has been subjected to rival claims of control over recent weeks. Sustained shelling was heard in the area all Tuesday morning.

The separatists were expected to discuss the withdrawal of the weaponry later Tuesday with representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the group charged with monitoring the cease-fire, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

In a phone call late on Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to use his influence on the separatists to ensure that they stop the fighting.

Merkel's office reported that the three leaders agreed on "concrete steps to enable an observation" of the situation in Debaltseve by the OSCE. It did not elaborate on what these steps would be.

OSCE representatives could not get to Debaltseve on Monday because of the heavy fighting there.

Al Jazeera and wire services