Why Ukrainian Town Is So Crucial In Conflict

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The capture of the Ukrainian town Debaltseve would represent a critical prize for the pro-Russian fighters.

The town of just over 25,000 people is a communications hub with a railway junction connecting the rebel strongholds of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Everything going in and out of the region passes through Debaltseve.

Take it, and the separatists have a supply route to and from their key strongholds for food, fuel and ammunition.

So while the ceasefire is being observed elsewhere in eastern Ukraine, fighting has intensified in Debaltseve and the surrounding area.

Rebels began their siege of the town last month.

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Gallery: Ukraine Troops Leave Debaltseve

Ukrainian servicemen ride on military vehicles as they leave an area around Debaltseve, eastern Ukraine

President Petro Poroshenko said 80% of units had left the town, in order to comply with the current ceasefire

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Mr Poroshenko: 'Armed forces together with the National Guard completed an operation for a planned and organised withdrawal from Debaltseve'

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Fierce fighting with pro-Russian rebels has raged around the strategically important town, which links the rebel-controlled regions of Donetsk and Luhansk

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Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly sought to delay the ceasefire agreed last week to give separatists the opportunity to capture the area.

Some of the 7,000 Ukrainian troops who were trapped there have now been taken prisoner as militants took control of, they say, 80% of the town.

Both sides claim Debaltseve is on their side of the ceasefire line.

Under the agreement negotiated by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France, the warring sides were supposed to begin withdrawing their heavy weapons from the front line on Tuesday.

However, they have both failed to do so as the deadline passed.

"We do not have the right to stop fighting for Debaltseve," said rebel leader Denis Pushilin.

"It's even a moral thing. It's internal territory. We have to respond to fire, to work on destroying the enemy's fighting positions."

According to the 2001 census, some 80% of the population in Debaltseve are native Russian speakers, while 16% speak Ukrainian.

Many residents have fled - but an estimated 5,000 remain.

"The situation in Debaltseve is catastrophic," Joanne Mariner, a senior crisis response adviser at Amnesty International, told the Kyiv Post.

"I have spoken to many elderly people who are confined to their basements, living in extremely dire, overcrowded conditions, in absolute fear.

"Many told me how they felt completely lost, not knowing what to do. Shelling is constant.

"These people are at the mercy of forces they have absolutely no control over."

Monitors with the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe have tried to enter the town but have reportedly been denied access by the separatists.

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